3.  5.  i  + 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Presented    by  Er.  F,  L.  Fai^oYi 


BX  9225  .R519  15  1910 

In  memory  of  the  Rev. 

William  Rogers  Richards, 

D 

Irving  Press, NT 


/ 

IN   MEMORY  OF  THE 

Rev.  William  Rogers  Richards,  D.D. 

PASTOR   OF  THE   BRICK    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 
NEW   YORK,    I902-I9IO 


CALLED   TO   HIS   REWARD 

ON   THE   SEVENTH    DAY   OF   JANUARY 

NINETEEN   HUNDRED   AND   TEN 


PRINTED   BY   ORDER   OF   THE   SESSION 
FEBRUARY.   1910 


THE   GUIDE 

(in    memory   of  WILLIAM    R.   RICHARDS) 

By  John  Finley 

Once  up  a  rugged  northern  mountain's  trail 
He  led  the  way,  this  lover  of  the  height, 
Who  often  climbed  to  catch  the  first  dim  sight 

Of  day,  or  keep  it  longer  than  the  vale; 

Our  guide,  who  knew  the  springs  that  did  not  fail, 
Who  taught  the  tenderest  the  steep's  delight, 
Tempered  the  morning's  pace  to  last  till  night. 

And  cheered  the  way  with  song  and  quaintest  tale. 

A  heightsman,  clean  of  soul,  of  body  lean, 
Who  knew  the  unblazed  trails;  up  heights  unseen 

He's  guided  multitudes,  teaching  God's  ways. 
Slowing  his  great  soul's  stride  to  others'  needs, 
Yet  leading  on,  making  his  creed  his  deed 

And  theirs — so  lived  he  nobly  through  his  days. 

Reprinted  from  The  Outlook. 


SYMPATHY— APPRECIATION 

THE  first  expressions  of  sympathy  received  by  the 
Brick  Church  from  another  congregation  came  to 
us  with  pecuHar  and  touching  significance  from  the 
Brown  Memorial  Church  of  Baltimore,  which  shared 
with  us  the  sorrow  when  Dr.  Richards'  immediate  pred- 
ecessor in  our  pastorate,  Dr.  Maltbie  D.  Babcock,  died 
in  the  full  tide  of  a  blessed  ministry,  only  a  year  after  he 
had  come  to  us  from  Baltimore. 

TELEGRAM 

Baltimore,  Md.,  January  7,  1910. 
To  Hamilton  Odell, 

Clerk  of  Brick  Church  Session, 
New  York  City. 
We  sympathize  deeply  with  the  Brick  Church  in  an- 
other irreparable  loss. 

Session  of  Brown  Memorial  Church. 

This  telegram  was  read  from  our  pulpit  on  January 
loth  by  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke,  who  had  returned 
to  counsel  and  to  console  us  in  our  sorrow  and  bereave- 
ment— sheep  left  again  without  a  shepherd. 

At  this  service  Dr.  van  Dyke  said :  Dear  and  old 
friends,  for  the  second  time  within  ten  years  we  are 
suddenly  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  beloved  minister 
of  this  church.    On  Thursday  Dr.  Richards  was  here  in 

I 


full  strength  and  vigor,  working  with  you  in  Christ's 
vineyard.  Now  he  has  gone  up  higher  and  the  Master 
has  said  to  him,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant, 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

A  preacher  of  rare  intelligence,  refinement  and  force, 
at  once  deeply  spiritual  and  thoroughly  practical;  a  pas- 
tor, faithful,  sympathetic,  wise  and  gentle;  a  presbyter, 
judicious,  sane,  serene  and  strong,  caring  not  only  for 
his  own  church  but  for  the  wide  cause  of  Christ  in  the 
great  city  and  in  the  whole  world ;  a  man  of  quiet  power, 
brotherly  and  firm,  with  a  clear  mind,  a  kindly  sense 
of  humor,  and  a  large,  steady,  loving  heart;  in  all  that 
he  undertook  he  gave  his  best  to  his  work  and  to  his 
fellow-workers.  Therefore  he  earned  success.  The 
church  prospered  in  his  care.  The  city  was  the  better 
for  his  presence.  We  all  honored  and  loved  him,  and 
we  love  him  still  with  that  grateful,  tender.  Christian 
love  which  shall  keep  his  memory  fragrant  with  the  name 
of  Jesus  folded  like  a  flower  among  the  leaves  of  his 
book  of  life. 

On  the  following  Sunday  Dr.  van  Dyke,  in  speaking 
of  lives  worth  living,  and  of  the  dignity  of  service, 
referred  to  Dr.  Richards  as  follows:  .  .  .  There  was 
also  that  other  man,  whose  presence  in  the  flesh 
vanished  from  our  side  but  a  few  days  ago,  the  Chris- 
tian minister,  William  R.  Richards.  He  was  essentially 
a  preacher,  a  student  and  interpreter  of  Holy  Scripture, 
an  expounder  of  the  mysteries  of  faith.  But  he  con- 
ceived of  this  function  not  from  the  point  of  view  of 
authority,  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  service.  It  was 
to  make  his  message  clear  and  level  to  the  comprehen- 

2 


sion  of  the  average  man  that  he  labored — not  to  clothe 
it  with  the  clouds  of  metaphysics,  the  thunder  of  vague 
eloquence,  the  lightning  of  brilliant  rhetoric.  He  tried 
to  bring  religion  "  home  to  the  business  and  bosoms  of 
men."  He  wrought  his  sermons  out  of  straight  and 
simple  need.  He  filled  them  with  practical  warnings, 
with  intimate  counsels,  with  quiet,  tender,  lasting  con- 
solations. He  touched  with  a  delicate,  firm  hand  those 
chords  which  vibrate  in  every  heart.  His  Christianity 
was  domestic.  It  was  like  the  fire  on  the  hearth.  Nor 
was  it  only  in  the  pulpit  that  his  faith  was  shown.  He 
proved  it  by  his  works.  He  truly  ministered  to  his 
church  in  all  things;  watching  over  its  interests,  gently 
guiding  its  course,  keeping  every  part  of  it  in  good  order, 
and  at  the  last  leaving  everything  in  the  parish  committed 
to  his  charge  in  working  trim  and  his  final  task  finished 
to  the  very  last  stroke.  Meantime  his  service  had  over- 
flowed the  bounds  of  his  own  particular  station,  as  good 
service  always  does.  He  made  the  beneficent  power  of 
his  large  and  tranquil  manhood  felt  in  a  score  of  ways — 
as  a  presbyter,  as  a  citizen,  as  a  university  man,  as  a 
typical  American  of  the  old  stock,  a  Puritan  enlarged 
and  sweetened,  a  very  human  "  divine."  Without  noise 
or  strife,  he  moved  along  the  manifold  paths  of  service, 
week  after  week,  year  after  year,  doing  his  work  well 
and  helping  the  work  of  others.  And  not  until  he 
quietly,  swiftly  departed  on  his  higher  mission  did  all 
those  whom  he  had  served,  know  how  much  he  had  done 
for  them — how  great  he  had  been  in  the  dignity  of 
service. 


FUNERAL    SERVICES 

The  following  report  was  prepared  by  a  stenographer  present  and 
is  printed  just  as  written  : 

FUNERAL    SERVICES   OF 

REV.    DR.    WILLIAM    R.    RICHARDS 

AT 

BRICK    CHURCH,    NEW    YORK    CITY, 

ON 

MONDAY,    JANUARY   TENTH,    NINETEEN    HUNDRED 

AND   TEN,    AT   TEN-THIRTY   A.    M. 

The  Strains  of  Chopin's  Funeral  March  stole  softly 
from  the  organ  loft,  as  the  casket  was  borne  into  the 
church,  preceded  by  the  clergymen  participating,  Rev. 
Robert  Davis,  reading: 

"  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  made 
heaven  and  earth,  for  we  are  strangers  before  Thee,  and 
sojourners,  as  were  all  our  fathers. 

"  Our  days  on  the  earth  are  as  a  shadow,  and  there 
is  none  abiding. 

"  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as 
the  flower  of  the  field ;  the  grass  withereth,  the  flower 
fadeth;  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand  forever. 

"  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  Him ;  for  He  knoweth  our  frame, 
He  remembereth  that  we  are  dust. 

"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth 
in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ;  and  who- 
soever liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 

Directly  behind  the  chief  mourners  came,  in  a  body, 
the  officers  of  the  church,  to  pews  appointed  them  in  the 
front  where  official  representatives  of  Presbytery,  and 
of  various  religious  and  civic  bodies  were  also  placed. 
After  the  great  silent  throng  were  seated,  the  choir  sang : 

4 


HYMN   978 

For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country, 

Mine  eyes  their  vigil  keep; 
For  very  love,  beholding 

Thy  happy  name,  they  weep. 
The  mention  of  thy  glory 

Is  unction  to  the  breast, 
And  medicine  in  sickness. 

And  love,  and  life,  and  rest. 

O  one,  O  only  mansion, 

O  paradise  of  joy, 
Where  tears  are  ever  banished, 

And  smiles  have  no  alloy; 
The  Lamb  is  all  thy  splendor, 

The  Crucified  thy  praise; 
His  laud  and  benediction 

Thy  ransomed  people  raise. 

With  jasper  glow  thy  bulwarks. 

Thy  streets  with  emerald  blaze; 
The  sardius  and  the  topaz 

Unite  in  thee  their  rays; 
Thine  ageless  walls  are  bonded 

With  amethyst  unpriced ; 
The  saints  build  up  its  fabric; 

The  corner  stone  is  Christ. 

Thou  hast  no  shore,  fair  ocean; 

Thou  hast  no  time,  bright  day; 
Dear  fountain  of  refreshment 

To  pilgrims  far  away. 
Upon  the  Rock  of  Ages 

They  raise  thy  holy  tower ; 
Thine  is  the  victor's  laurel, 

And  thine  the  golden  dower. 

The  Rev.  Shepherd  Knapp  then  led  in  prayer: 

O  God,  our  Father,  Light  of  the  blind.  Strength  of 
the  weak,  yea,  also  Light  of  those  that  see.  Strength  of 

5 


the  strong,  hearken  unto  us  as  out  of  the  depths  we  cry 
unto  Thee!  Grant,  O  most  merciful  Father,  that  mak- 
ing full  confession  of  our  many  sins,  we  may  never 
forget  that  Thou  art  good  to  all  and  ready  to  forgive. 
Enable  us  so  to  hear  Thy  Holy  Word  that,  through 
patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  we  may  have 
hope.  Send  into  our  hearts  thy  Holy  Spirit  that  we 
may  be  comforted  of  Thee,  and  help  us  by  Thy  grace  to 
hold  fast  the  promise  of  everlasting  life  through  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

The  congregation  joined  in  the  repetition  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer. 

The  congregation,  rising,  followed  the  clergy  in  the 
repetition  of  the  Apostle's  Creed — ("  The  confession  of 
our  Christian  faith"). 

The  congregation  being  seated,  there  was  rendered 
the  following  contralto  solo: 

"  Eye  hath  not  seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him.     I  Cor.,  ii,  9. 

"  For  He  hath  prepared  for  them  a  city,  whose  builder 
and  maker  is  God.    Heb.,  xi,  10. 

"  There  remaineth,  therefore,  a  rest  for  the  people 
of  God. 

"  Therefore  fear  lest  any  come  short  of  it.  Heb., 
iv,  9,  I." 

Rev.  Dr.  Henry  van  Dyke:  Let  us  hear  those  things 
which  are  written  for  the  strengthening  of  our  faith 
and  for  the  comfort  of  our  hearts,  in  the  Holy  Word 
of  God — {reading)  : 

"  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
pitieth  them  that  fear  Him ;  for  He  knoweth  our  frame, 
He  remembereth  that  we  are  dust. 

"  As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass ;  as  a  flower  of 
the  field,  so  he  flourisheth. 

"  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone ;  and  the 
place  thereof  shall  know  it  no  more. 

"  But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to 


everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him,  and  His  righteous- 
ness unto  children's  children,  to  such  as  keep  His  cov- 
enant and  to  those  that  remember  His  commandments 
to  do  them. 

"  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want. 

"  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures :  He 
leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters. 

"  He  restoreth  my  soul :  He  leadeth  me  in  the  paths 
of  righteousness  for  His  name's  sake. 

"  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  Thou  art  with  me ;  Thy 
rod  and  Thy  staff,  they  comfort  me. 

"  Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence 
of  mine  enemies :  Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ; 
my  cup  runneth  over. 

"  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the 
days  of  my  life:  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  forever." 

Jesus  said :  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled :  ye  be- 
lieve in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions.  H  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have 
told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you ;  and  if  I  go 
and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  re- 
ceive you  unto  myself  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also. 

'*  n  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments;  and  I  will 
pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another  com- 
forter, that  He  may  abide  with  you  forever,  even  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because 
it  seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him.  But  ye  know 
Him,  for  He  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you.  I 
will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  I  will  come  unto  you. 

"  Yet  a  little  while  and  the  world  seeth  me  no  more ; 
but  ye  see  me ;  because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also. 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  being  yet 
present  with  you ;  but  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy 
Ghost  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name.  He  shall 
teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remem- 
brance, whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you. 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you. 
Not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

Hear  also  what  St.  John  saith  (reading)  : 


"  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth :  for  the 
first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  and 
there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city, 
new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven, 
prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I 
heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying.  Behold,  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  shall  be  His  people,  and  God  Himself 
shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God.  And  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away. 

"  And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  Hfe, 
clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and 
on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  tree  of  life, 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her 
fruit  every  month:  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations. 

"  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse :  but  the  throne  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it;  and  His  servants 
shall  serve  Him :  And  they  shall  see  His  face,  and  His 
name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  no 
night  there;  and  they  need  no  candle,  neither  Hght  of 
the  sun;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light:  and  they 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever. 

"  And  he  said  unto  me,  These  sayings  are  faithful 
and  true :  and  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets  sent 
His  angel  to  show  unto  His  servants  the  things  which 
must  shortly  be  done. 

"  Behold,  I  come  quickly :  blessed  is  he  that  keepeth 
the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book." 

May  God  bless  to  all  our  hearts  the  reading  of  His 
Holy  Word. 

The  choir  than  sang  Hymn  No.  981. 

Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand. 

In  sparkling  raiment  bright. 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints 

Throng  up  the  steeps  of  light: 

8 


'Tis  finished,  all  is  finished, 

Their  fight  with  death  and  sin: 

Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates, 
And  let  the  victors  in. 

What  rush  of  hallelujahs 

Fills  all  the  earth  and  sky; 
What  ringing  of  a  thousand  harps 

Bespeaks  the  triumph  nigh. 
O  day,  for  which  Creation 

And  all  its  tribes  were  made ; 
O  joy  for  all  its  former  woes 

A  thousandfold  repaid. 

O  then  what  raptured  greetings 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore ; 
What  knitting  severed  friendships  up 

Where  partings  are  no  more. 
Then  eyes  with  joy  shall  sparkle. 

That  brimmed  with  tears  of  late; 
Orphans  no  longer  fatherless, 

Nor  widows  desolate. 

Bring  near  Thy  great  salvation. 

Thou  Lamb  for  sinners  slain ; 
Fill  up  the  roll  of  Thine  elect. 

Then  take  Thy  power  and  reign ! 
Appear,  Desire  of  nations ! 

Thine  exiles  long  for  home; 
Show  in  the  heavens  Thy  promised  sign ! 

Thou  Prince  and  Saviour,  come ! 

Prayer.    By  Rev.  Dr.  George  Alexander: 

Our  Father  in  heaven,  pity  our  weakness  and  draw  us 
close  to  Thyself.  Let  not  the  consolations  of  God  be 
small  with  us,  for  our  grief  is  great.  We  cannot  under- 
stand the  mystery  of  Thy  dealings;  Thy  ways  are  not 
as  our  ways.  We  do  not  distrust  Thy  fatherly  good- 
ness, but  we  are  dim-sighted,  and  our  hearts  are  sore. 
In  mercy  draw  us  close  to  Thyself.  Strong  Son  of  God, 
whom  not  having  seen  we  love,  manifest  Thyself  unto 


Thy  sorrowing  children.  EnHghten  the  eyes  of  our  faith 
that  we  may  see  in  Thy  pierced  hand  the  key  of  death 
and  of  the  world  beyond.  We  do  not  sorrow  as  those 
who  have  no  hope;  for  since  we  believe  that  Thou  hast 
died  and  risen  again,  we  believe  that  they  also  which 
sleep  in  Thee,  God  will  bring  with  Thee.  Even  through 
our  tears  we  give  thanks  unto  Thee,  O  God  of  consola- 
tion and  of  hope.  We  give  thanks  unto  Thee  for  one 
whom  we  have  loved  long  since  but  lost  awhile.  We 
shall  be  stronger  because  he  strengthened  us ;  we  shall 
be  wiser  because  he  taught  us ;  by  Thy  grace  we  shall 
walk  closer  with  Thee  because  in  high  companionship 
we  walked  with  him ;  we  shall  be  richer :  for  though  we 
sigh  now  for  "  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the 
sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still,"  we  nevertheless  know 
that  we  shall  be  with  him  when  we  are  ever  with  the 
Lord.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  that  Thou  didst  ordain 
for  him  to  do,  and  by  Thy  grace  to  be.  We  thank  Thee 
that,  having  served  his  generation  according  to  the  will 
of  God,  he  was  taken  unto  Thyself,  with  "  no  sadness 
of  farewell,"  and  with  scarce  a  pang  in  passing  from 
the  land  of  the  living  to  join  the  glorious  company  of 
those  who  never  die.  And  now  we  beseech  Thee,  O 
God  of  our  salvation,  impart  unto  us,  who  live  and  labor 
still,  something  of  the  mind  and  spirit  that  was  in  him, 
that  we  may  go  forward  to  do  in  the  earth  the  work 
which  has  fallen  from  his  hands.  Let  Thy  blessing  rest, 
we  beseech  Thee,  upon  all  those  institutions  of  learning 
and  philanthropy  and  religion  to  which  he  gave  so  much 
of  himself.  Strengthen  the  shoulders  upon  which  shall 
drop  the  burdens  which  he  so  nobly  bore.  Have  pity 
upon  those  whose  hearts  fail  them  and  who  feel  that 
they  can  scarcely  go  forward  because  that  other  great 
heart  no  longer  shares  the  perils  of  the  pilgrimage.  Help 
us  to  go  forward  and  do  the  work  of  God.  O  Thou 
who  art  head  over  all  things  unto  the  Church,  mercifully 
regard  this  household  of  faith  to  whom  Thy  servant  was 
a  father  in  God,  breaking  unto  them  the  bread  of  life, 
and  ministering  as  of  the  ability  that  God  giveth.  Grant 
that  the  shock  of  this  fresh  bereavement  may  make  more 
real  to  them  the  bond  which  unites  them  in  one  bundle 
of  life  with  one  another  and  with  their  Lord.  Let  not 
theirs  be  the  grief  that  saps  the  mind,  but  that  sorrow 

10 


which  ripens  the  fruit  of  holy  character.  O  Thou  who 
art  the  Father  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow's  friend, 
be  very  tenderly  and  graciously  near  unto  those  who  are 
most  sorely  afflicted  by  this  stroke  of  Thy  providence. 
May  they  be  conscious  that  the  Everlasting  Arms  are 
underneath  and  around  them.  May  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  God  come  to  them  as  their  Comforter,  and  do 
Thou  point  their  eyes  and  ours  to  Thy  better  country, 
even  the  heavenly,  toward  which  we  are  journeying. 
Grant  that  we  may  have  the  assurance  that  when  our 
work  is  done,  for  us  the  veil  shall  pass,  for  us  shall  come 
the  vision  of  that  land  of  beauty  into  which  Thou  hast 
been  gathering  so  many  bound  to  us  by  ties  of  kindred 
and  of  friendship.  May  there  be  in  our  hearts  a  great 
longing  for  the  vision  of  Thy  face,  for  the  glory  of  that 
better  country.  Hear,  Lord,  our  prayer ;  comfort  our 
poor  hearts,  and  keep  us  in  The  Way :  for  Christ's  sake. 
Amen. 

Tennyson's   "  Crossing   the   Bar "    (music   by   Joseph 
Barnby)   was  then  rendered  by  the  choir: 

Sunset  and  evening  star. 

And  one  clear  call  for  me ! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar. 

When  I  put  out  to  sea. 

But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep. 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam. 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 

Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell, 

When  I  embark. 

For,  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

When  I  have  crost  the  bar. 

II 


Benediction.     By  Dr.  Alexander: 

"  Now  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again  from  the 
dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make  you 
perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  working  in 
you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  his  sight,  through 
Jesus  Christ :  to  whom  be  glory  forever  and  ever. 
Amen." 

Upon  January  9th,  at  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Elders, 
Trustees  and  Deacons,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
prepare  a  suitable  minute.  Upon  this  committee  were 
John  E.  Parsons,  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees; 
Hamilton  Odell,  clerk  of  Session,  and  Caldwell  R.  Blake- 
man,  representing  the  Board  of  Deacons. 

The  following  was  approved  and  ordered  spread  upon 
the  minutes  of  Session: 

REV.    WILLIAM    ROGERS    RICHARDS,    D.D.,    DIED 
JANUARY   7,    19 10. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Richards  makes  suitable  that  resolu- 
tions appropriate  to  the  occasion  shall  be  placed  upon 
our  minutes  ;  not  for  us — for  those  who  are  to  come  after 
us  in  that  future  when  his  name  shall  be  a  memory,  and 
who  will  not  know  him  and  cannot  love  him  as  we  did. 
To  think  of  Dr.  Richards  is  to  praise  him;  his  eulogy 
is  written  in  our  hearts. 

He  belonged  to  the  Brick  Church  from,  and  it  may 
fairly  be  said  by,  his  birth.  His  great  uncle,  Mr.  Guy 
Richards,  was  a  member  of  the  congregation  and  active 
in  the  work  of  the  church  for  forty  years  up  to  his  death. 
Dr.  Richards  was  born  in  Boston  on  December  20.  1853. 
He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  George  and  Anna  Richards. 
His  father  was  associate  pastor  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rogers, 
and  afterwards  pastor  of  the  Central  Congregational 
Church  in  Boston.  He  entered  Yale  College  in  1871. 
He  was  made  a  member  of  the  University  Corporation 

12 


in  1906.  In  1903  it  gave  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  an  honor  which  the  New  York  University  had 
conferred  upon  him  eleven  years  before.  After  grad- 
uation from  Yale,  Dr.  Richards  studied  law  at  Columbia 
Law  School,  and  then,  as  he  felt  a  decided  call  to  the 
ministry,  he  went  to  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1879.  His  first  call 
after  leaving  Andover  came  from  the  Central  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Bath,  Ale,  He  accepted  it  and  for 
five  years  labored  there  with  signal  success.  In  1884 
a  call  came  to  him  from  the  Crescent  Avenue  Presby- 
terian Church,  of  Plainfield,  X.  J.  He  accepted  it  and 
began  his  pastorate  there  at  once,  remaining  in  Plain- 
field  for  eighteen  years.  In  1880  Dr.  Richards  married 
Miss  Charlotte  B.  Blodget.  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Henry 
Blodget,  D.D.,  a  missionary  in  China  for  many  years. 
In  1902  Dr.  Richards  was  unanimously  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Brick  Church.  His  installation  took 
place  on  Sunday  afternoon,  October  26,  1902.  The  Rev. 
Daniel  Russell,  Moderator  of  the  Presbytery,  presided. 
The  Rev.  John  C.  Bliss,  D.D.,  read  the  Scriptures  and 
the  Rev.  George  Alexander,  D.D.,  preached  a  sermon 
from  I  Tim.,  1:12:  "I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord, 
who  hath  enabled  me.  for  that  he  counted  me  faithful 
putting  me  into  the  ministry."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Atterbury 
made  the  installing  prayer.  Dr.  van  Dyke  gave  the 
charge  to  the  pastor.  Dr.  van  Dyke  then  handed  to 
Dr.  Richards  the  key  of  the  church.  The  Rev.  Wilton 
Merle  Smith,  D.D.,  charged  the  people. 

Dr.  Richards  came  to  an  harmonious  and  united 
church.  Under  the  recent  ministeries  of  Dr.  van  Dyke 
and  Dr.  Babcock,  it  had  reached  a  condition  of  activity 
and  material  as  well  as  religious  prosperity,  which  led 
to  the  question.  How  was  the  existing  condition  to  be 
maintained,  to  be  improved,  if  possible,  but  under  no 
circumstances  to  suffer  a  setback?  And  in  undertaking 
the  work,  it  must  have  been  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Richards 
that  his  immediate  predecessors  had  established  a  stand- 
ard of  pulpit  service  up  to  which  it  would  be  expected 
that  their  successor  should  attain.  It  would  have  been 
unfair  and  unreasonable  to  expect,  when  Dr.  Babcock 
came  to  us,  that  he  would  reproduce  the  characteristics 
which  we  had  learned  to  admire  in  Dr.  van  Dyke.     Dr. 

13 


Babcock  taught  us  that  almost  opposite  extremes  may 
lead  to  the  same  goal.  And  the  tragic  termination  of  his 
brilliant  career  as  pastor  and  preacher  created  a  situa- 
tion to  satisfy  which  required,  in  him  who  was  to  follow, 
a  rare  combination.  We  quickly  learned  to  know  Dr. 
Richards  as  the  minister  of  his  church.  Birth  and  good 
breeding,  followed  by  Christian  training,  had  made  him 
a  Christian  gentleman ;  modest,  quiet,  courteous,  con- 
siderate, and  kindly.  His  character  was  written  in  the 
expressive  lineaments  of  his  attractive  face,  lit  up  as 
was  so  easily  the  case  by  an  irradiating  smile,  and  on 
occasions  showing  the  vein  of  quiet  humor  which  was 
characteristic  of  him.  There  was  no  lack  of  strength, 
but  his  force  of  character  interposed  no  barrier  between 
him  and  the  affection  with  which  we  quickly  learned 
to  regard  him.  To  the  loveliness  of  his  life  and  the 
charm  of  his  friendship  there  could  be  no  better  tribute 
than  the  universal  wail  of  personal  sorrow  which  fol- 
lowed the  announcement  that  he  who  had  grown  to  be 
dear  to  us  had  in  a  moment  been  taken  from  us  to  join 
the  company  of  saints  and  angels  in  His  Father's  house 
of  many  mansions.  His  last  service  was  at  Christ 
Church,  the  early  evening  of  the  night  upon  which  he 
died.  He  knew  no  difference  of  station  or  position.  His 
work  was  the  work  of  his  Master,  whether  among  the 
lowly  or  those  of  high  estate,  the  rich  or  the  poor.  He 
was  the  friend  of  all,  and  all  repaid  him  with  a  degree 
of  appreciation  and  devotion  which  left  nothing  to  be 
desired. 

H,  when  Dr.  Richards  came  to  us,  we  had  misgivings, 
it  was  from  a  possible  doubt  of  his  ability,  or,  for  the 
matter  of  that,  of  the  ability  of  any  man  to  satisfy  a 
taste  which  had  been  refined  to  the  highest  point  of  pos- 
sibly unreasonable  expectation.  What  struck  us  at  onee, 
what,  in  fact,  we  were  in  a  measure  prepared  for,  was 
the  contrast  between  Dr.  Richards'  preaching  and  that 
to  which  we  had  been  accustomed ;  and  this  was  in- 
tensified by  the  simplicity  which  we  soon  saw  to  be  a 
distinguishing  feature  of  his  pulpit  work.  It  was  as 
compared  with  the  preaching  of  Dr.  Babcock,  the  differ- 
ence between  the  torrent,  almost  irresistible  in  its  power, 
and  the  strong  and  steady-flowing  stream,  equally  ir- 
resistible in  the  achievement  of  its  results.     Dr.  Rich- 

14 


ards'  sermons  were  so  simple  that  a  child  could  follow 
them,  so  interesting  in  argument  and  illustration,  so 
novel  and  original  as  to  compel  attention,  delivered  with 
a  quiet  force  which,  on  occasion,  rose  to  the  highest 
order  of  impassioned  oratory ;  dealing  with  sublime  sub- 
jects in  a  way  so  lucid  as  to  be  within  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  humblest,  and  marked,  when  they  dealt  with 
points  of  doctrine,  by  a  logic  which  admitted  of  no  ques- 
tion. If  a  single  word  were  to  be  sought  to  describe 
his  preaching,  earnestness  would  perhaps  come  nearest 
to  what  we  wish,  an  earnestness  which  thrilled  in  every 
word  that  he  uttered,  and  the  effect  of  which,  though 
subdued,  was  overpowering.  It  would  not  be  difficult 
to  continue  the  attempt  to  give  some  impression  of  Dr. 
Richards,  as  he  went  in  and  out  among  us,  known  to  all. 
It  is  needless.  We  loved  him,  young  and  old,  and  the 
tears  of  all  followed  him  to  his  too-early  grave. 

Of  his  work  sufficient  evidence  is  furnished  by  the 
Year  Book  which  was  completed,  and  ready  for  distribu- 
tion when  he  died.  There  was  not  a  vacant  sitting  in 
the  church.  But  Dr.  Richards'  work  was  not  limited  to 
his  own  church.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Moderators' 
Council  of  Presbytery.  He  served  two  years  as  Mod- 
erator. He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Church  Extension 
Committee  of  Presbytery,  a  member  of  the  Council  of 
New  York  University,  a  director  of  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  a  member  of  the  Yale  Corporation 
and  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  He 
was  a  member  of  several  clubs,  including  the  Century, 
Yale,  Quill,  Chi  Alpha,  and  Presbyterian.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution 
and  a  director  of  the  New  England  Society.  During 
his  ministry  the  success  of  the  Affiliated  Churches  was 
continued  and  put  on  a  permanent  basis.  And  he  did 
much  by  his  efforts  and  his  personality  to  strengthen 
pleasant  relations  with  his  ecclesiastical  neighbors  of 
other  denominations.  Of  no  one  could  it  be  more  suit- 
able to  say,  "  Well  done  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 
He  has  left  to  his  family  as  a  heritage  the  memory  of 
a  noble  service  and  an  honored  name,  and  to  us  the  in- 
centive to  continue  the  work  to  which  he  gladly  gave  of 
his  strength  and  of  his  life. 

15 


MEMORIAL   SERVICE 


UNION   SERVICE    IN    MEMORY   OF 

WILLIAM  ROGERS  RICHARDS,  D.D. 

BY   THE 

BRICK   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 

christ  church  and  church  of  the  covenant 
affiliated 

In  the  Brick  Church,  Sunday  Evening,  January  30,  1910 

AT   EIGHT   o'clock 

Rev.  henry  VAN  DYKE,  D.D.,  Presiding 


ORDER  OF  SERVICE, 

ORGAN  PRELUDE        ,        .         Carl  August  Fischer 
CHOIR  HYMN Barnby 

Sunset  and  evening  star,  and  one  clear  call  for  me! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar,  when  I  put  out 
to  sea. 
But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep. 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam. 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 
Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell,  and  after  that  the  dark! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell,  when  I  embark; 
For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
When  I  have  crost  the  bar. 

16 


Prayer.    By  Dr.  van  Dyke: 

O  God,  light  of  the  hearts  that  see  Thee,  and  Hfe 
of  the  souls  that  love  Thee,  and  strength  of  the  thoughts 
that  seek  Thee ;  from  whom  to  be  turned  away  is  to  fall, 
to  whom  to  be  turned  is  to  rise,  and  in  whom  to  abide 
is  to  stand  fast  forever;  grant  us  now  Thy  forgiveness 
and  Thy  blessing  as  we  are  here  assembled  to  offer  up 
our  confession  and  our  supplication.  Though  we  are 
unworthy  to  approach  Thee,  or  to  ask  anything  of  Thee 
at  all,  vouchsafe  to  hear  and  to  answer  us  for  the  sake 
of  our  great  High  Priest  and  advocate,  Jesus  Christ, 
our  Lord. 

O  Lord  God,  the  hope  of  the  faithful,  the  strength 
of  those  who  labor,  and  the  repose  of  the  blessed  dead, 
we  bless  Thee  for  all  Thy  saints  who  have  witnessed 
in  their  lives  a  good  confession,  and  especially  for  those 
dear  unto  us  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus.  Grant 
us  grace  of  our  God  so  to  follow  their  good  example 
that  we  may  be  one  with  them  in  spirit,  and  finally  share 
in  their  eternal  rest. 

Most  gracious,  loving  Father,  Thou  who  knowest  the 
sorrows  of  every  human  heart,  Thou  who  knowest  the 
duties  and  cares  of  every  human  life,  as  we  have  come 
here  to  thank  Thee  for  the  great  help  that  Thou  hast 
given  us  through  Thy  servant  departed,  so  comfort  us 
in  our  sense  of  his  loss  that  we  shall  be  able  to  feel  that 
it  is  his  eternal  gain.  So  renew  in  us  the  faithful  mem- 
ory of  his  service  and  the  faithful  witness  which  he  bore 
to  Jesus  Christ,  that  his  life  may  be  now  present  with  us 
in  this  service,  and  so  bring  us  into  the  communion  of 
saints  that  we  may  share  with  him  that  joy  which  is 
everlasting  in  Thy  Heavenly  Kingdom.  Through  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord  and  Saviour.    Amen. 

Reading  of  the  Scriptures.     By  Rev,  George  C.  De 
Mott.*    n  Cor.,  V.  i-io: 

"  For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  taber- 
nacle were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens : 

*  Rev.  Mr.  De  Mott,  Pastor  of  the  Central  Congregational 
Church,  of  Bath,  Me.,  was  in  attendance  as  representative  of  that 
church,  at  which  Dr.  Richards  served  his  first  pastorate. 

17 


"  For  in  this  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed 
upon  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven : 

"  If  so  be  that  being  clothed  we  shall  not  be  found 
naked. 

"  For  we  that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being 
burdened:  not  for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but 
clothed  upon,  that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of 
Hfe. 

"  Now  He  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  selfsame  thing 
is  God,  who  also  hath  given  unto  us  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit. 

"  Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  knowing  that, 
whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from 
the  Lord : 

"  For  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight : 

"  We  are  confident,  I  say,  and  willing  rather  to  be 
absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord. 

"  Wherefore  we  labor,  that,  whether  present  or  absent, 
we  may  be  accepted  of  Him. 

"  For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ;  that  everyone  may  receive  the  things  done  in 
his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be 
good  or  bad." 

HYMN        ..."  Saviour,  Blessed  Saviour  " 

Saviour,  blessed  Saviour, 

Listen  while  we  sing; 
Hearts  and  voices  raising 

Praises  to  our  King. 
All  we  have  we  ofifer. 

All  we  hope  to  be, 
Body,  soul,  and  spirit. 

All  we  yield  to  Thee. 

Brighter  still,  and  brighter, 

Glows  the  western  sun, 
Shedding  all  its  gladness 

O'er  our  work  that's  done ; 
Time  will  soon  be  over. 

Toil  and  sorrow  past, 
May  we,  blessed  Saviour, 

Find  a  rest  at  last. 

i8 


Remarks.     By  Dr.  van  Dyke : 

We  have  come  here  to-night,  a  company  of  Christian 
friends,  representing  directly  five  churches — the  Congre- 
gational Church,  of  Bath,  Me.,  where  Dr.  Richards  be- 
gan his  ministry;  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Plainfield, 
N.  J.,  where  Dr.  Richards  continued  his  ministry;  and 
the  Brick  Church,  the  Church  of  Covenant,  and  Christ 
Church — the  threefold  fellowship  in  which  Dr.  Richards 
triumphantly  ended  his  ministry.  We  have  come  to  re- 
fresh our  minds  and  strengthen  our  Christian  devotion 
by  the  thought  of  his  beautiful  and  useful  life;  we  have 
come  to  express  our  gratitude  for  the  good  which  he  did 
to  us ;  and  in  this  service  the  other  Christian  churches 
of  this  city  sympathize  and  share,  and  some  of  them  are 
represented  here  by  their  ministry. 

A  great,  simple,  noble  life,  of  real  inspiration  and 
help  and  service  to  mankind,  has  been  closed ;  and  to  us 
have  been  left  the  sweet  influence,  the  precious  memory, 
and  the  glorious  example.  Let  us  keep  and  treasure 
them.  I  was  reading  but  the  other  day  what  George 
Muller,  of  the  Orphanage  in  Bristol,  said  when  his  wife 
died.  He  preached  a  sermon  in  which  he  said :  "  I  have 
three  grounds  for  thanksgiving  to-day — first,  that  God 
gave  me  this  helper  for  my  life;  second,  that  God  so 
long  let  me  enjoy  this  companionship;  third,  that  God 
has  taken  His  servant  to  Himself  without  pain." 

It  is  not  my  part  to-night  to  make  an  address,  but 
simply  to  preside  at  this  service  as  one  who  has  been 
asked  to  do  what  he  can  for  the  time  to  supply  the  great 
loss  that  has  been  caused  here  by  Dr.  Richards'  calling 
from  us.  The  first  address  to-night  was  to  have  been 
made  by  Dr.  Grosvenor,  our  nearest  neighbor,  pastor  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Incarnation,  but 
Dr.  Grosvenor  is  ill  and  unable  to  be  in  his  own  pulpit 
to-day.  He  has  written  expressing  his  deep  regret  that 
he  cannot  be  with  us.     He  says : 

"  It  is  impossible  for  me  in  this  brief  moment  at  my 
disposal  adequately  to  speak  of  my  friend.  Dr.  Richards. 
His  death  was  so  sudden,  so  overwhelming  in  its  unex- 
pectedness, that  we  have  not  had  time  to  realize  it.  His 
was  a  beautiful  life,  lived  close  to  God,  and  full  of  loving 
service    for  all   God's   children.     He  was   a  scholar,  a 

19 


bright-minded,  large-hearted,  wise,  sane  man,  whose 
preaching  was  most  upHfting,  and  whose  ministry  to  all 
who  knew  him  was  a  perpetual  benediction.  To  his 
family  and  the  church  so  sorely  afflicted  we  offer  our 
deep  and  loving  sympathy  and  our  earnest  prayers." 

I  will  now  ask  Dr.  Francis  Brown,  president  of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  to  speak. 

Address.     By  Rev.  Francis  Brown,  D.D. : 

It  is  my  privilege  to  have  been,  like  most  of  you,  a 
parishioner  of  Dr.  Richards',  and  I  came  here,  as  you 
have  come,  in  sorrow  for  a  beloved  pastor,  missing  a 
friend,  rejoicing  in  the  translation  of  a  saint  of  God.  It 
might  be  possible  partly  to  describe  Dr.  Richards  by  the 
process  of  exclusion.  Some  men  are  like  fiery  visitants 
of  the  night,  like  comets,  or  shooting  stars,  puzzling, 
mysterious,  passing  into  nothingness,  or  wandering  away 
through  space.  Dr.  Richards  was  not  like  these.  His 
passing  was  not  like  the  passing  of  these.  Some  men 
are  simply  plodders,  doing  the  useful  work  of  the  world 
without  great  significance — commonplace,  average  men, 
among  whom  most  of  us  again  would  class  ourselves. 
But  no  one  would  call  Dr.  Richards  a  commonplace  man. 
Some  are  massive,  portentous  personalities,  seeking 
domination,  and  domineering  by  habit,  and  receiving  the 
position  that  they  claim.  Dr.  Richards  was  not  a  man 
like  these.  There  might  have  been  found  those  who  would 
not  call  him  an  extraordinary  man  at  all,  just  as  there 
are  people  who  would  not  call  Washington  an  extraor- 
dinary man ;  people  for  whom  the  extraordinary  has  the 
connotation  of  the  eccentric,  even  of  one-sided  develop- 
ment, of  the  phenomenal,  the  startling.  But  most  cer- 
tainly he  was  an  unusual  man,  a  man  made  up  of  qual- 
ities, many  of  which  are  rare,  existing  in  him  to  a  rare 
degree,  and  one  in  whom  the  harmonious  composition  of 
those  qualities  made  a  rare  man.  He  had  insight  and 
quickness  of  mind,  and  with  them  a  tremendous  power 
of  work  and  industry  that  left  nothing  to  chance ;  and, 
when  he  could  help  it,  left  nothing  to  the  spur  of  the 
moment.    He  had  solidity  and  strength,  and  the  reverse 

20 


side  of  that  was  tenderness,  delicacy,  and  courtesy.  He 
had  great  sobriety  of  thought,  and  it  was  by  the  sobriety 
of  his  thought  that  he  held  men  when  he  had  drawn 
them  to  him;  this  joined  with  felicity  of  speech,  choice 
of  fit  words,  absence  of  the  attempt  or  the  need  to  pile 
up  epithets,  the  striking  at  his  meaning  at  one  blow. 
He  would  not  have  called  himself  a  metaphysician ;  he 
was  too  much  concerned  with  the  practical  affairs  of 
life.  But  his  mind  was  one  that  could  grasp  large  ideas 
and  hold  them  firmly,  and  his  power  of  expression  was 
such  as  to  pass  on  those  ideas  with  definiteness  and  dis- 
crimination and  effect.  You  could  hardly  call  him,  I  sup- 
pose, a  pioneer  in  his  thought,  though  pioneers  are  use- 
ful men,  and,  when  they  keep  themselves  well  in  hand, 
noble  men,  and  leaders  of  men.  But  we  must  not  have 
too  many  pioneers.  The  pioneer  is  often  rough  and  hard 
and  rash.  Having  to  find  his  own  way,  he  goes  too 
fast  and  too  far,  sometimes,  so  that  even  followers  some- 
times miss  the  path.  Dr.  Richards  was  a  man  who  held 
firmly  to  beliefs  long  cherished  in  the  church,  but  he 
had  worked  his  way  to  these  beliefs  for  himself,  and 
therefore  his  thought  always  had  the  garb  of  freshness. 
You  did  not  know  always  when  he  began  his  sermon 
where  he  was  going  to  bring  you  out,  but  you  went 
with  him  in  confidence,  and  you  found  new  vistas  open- 
ing before  you  as  you  went,  and  presently,  without 
knowing  just  how,  you  were  standing  beside  him  at  a 
new  point  of  view,  looking  at  a  new  side  of  the  old 
truth  from  a  familiar  side,  but  bathed  in  a  fresh,  warm 
light.  And  behind  all  was  the  manhood  of  him,  the 
sturdiness  and  the  simplicity,  the  self-respect,  and  the 
respect  for  the  other  man,  the  frankness,  and  the  trust, 
and  the  consideration  of  those  whose  views  diverged, 
crowned  by  that  faith  in  God,  which  made  him  so  quiet 
and  so  sure,  that  spiritual  comprehension  of  the  unseen, 
that  constant  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ! 

Dr.  Richards  was  a  Commissioner  to  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1887  from  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth,  when 
he  had  been  only  three  years  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
It  was  there,  I  think,  that  I  first  met  him.  I  do  not 
remember  that  he  made  a  speech  in  that  Assembly.  I 
find  by  the  record  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Temperance.     The  Assembly  met  at  Omaha, 

21 


and  after  its  dissolution  a  party  of  us  made  an  excur- 
sion to  Colorado,  having  never  seen  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains before,  and  he  was  one  of  the  party,  and  there  was 
close  and  pleasant  fellowship  on  the  way.  We  made 
many  expeditions  together,  with  Denver  as  the  center, 
and  I  remember  the  last  time  I  saw  him  there.  It  was 
at  Silver  Plume,  to  which  we  had  gone  out,  and  from 
which  I  had  to  return  to  meet  an  appointment  in  Denver, 
while  he  remained  behind  to  climb  Gray's  Peak,  the 
highest  peak  of  the  Colorado  range,  alone,  and  a 
fine  tramp  he  had  up  over  the  snow,  with  great  satis- 
faction and  joy  at  the  end  of  it,  as  he  told  me  later.  He 
was  such  a  splendid  outdoor  man,  with  so  much  vigor 
and  vivacity,  enjoying  the  natural  world  so  deeply,  and, 
by  his  comradeship,  making  recreation  seem  so  worth 
while. 

He  had  no  direct  relation  with  Union  Seminary  until 
after  he  came  to  New  York  to  live.  He  preached  in 
our  Adams  Chapel  for  the  first  time  on  the  13th  of  April, 
1902,  before  he  was  called  to  be  the  pastor  of  this  church. 
There  was  no  collusion  in  the  arrangement  between  us 
and  the  committee  of  this  congregation,  but  I  believe 
they  regretted  that  occasion  as  little  as  we  did.  A  few 
months  afterwards,  in  January,  1903,  when  he  was  al- 
ready the  pastor  of  this  people,  he  was  asked,  not  un- 
naturally, because  he  was  a  New  England  man,  like  so 
many  of  the  founders  and  professors  of  the  Union  Sem- 
inary, to  join  its  Board  of  Directors,  which  he  did,  and 
then  began  the  years  of  steady,  faithful,  interested,  de- 
voted service  in  that  relation.  He  had  the  clear  mind  of 
a  good  counselor.  It  was  not  so  much  that  he  had 
policies  of  his  own  to  develop  or  advocate,  but  he  judged 
questions  of  policy  with  great  wisdom,  and  he  expressed 
his  judgment,  with  deference  always,  but  with  decision. 
He  never  shrank  from  any  duty  that  seemed  to  him 
laid  upon  him  by  this  connection  with  Union  Sem- 
inary. That  was  not  his  own  seminary,  but  his  care  for 
its  students,  his  concern  for  their  best  welfare,  and  the 
readiness  with  which  he  aided  us  in  seeking  and  in  find- 
ing opportunities  for  them  to  serve,  all  marked  his 
loyalty  there.  It  would  be  wrong  of  me  not  to  bear  tes- 
timony to  this  devotion  of  his,  which  we  are  missing 
every  week  more  and  more.     Before  long  he  became  a 

22 


member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  our  Board.  He 
was  instrumental  largely  in  bringing  about  kindlier  re- 
lations between  the  Seminary  and  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York.  Before  he  came  here,  like  his  predecessors  in 
this  pastorate,  he  had  been  known  as  an  advocate  of 
fairness  and  justice  and  breadth,  and  one  of  his  last 
services  outside  of  this  city  was  to  represent  the  Pres- 
bytery before  the  Synod  of  New  York,  in  a  case  in  which 
a  graduate  of  the  Seminary  was  concerned.  He  grew 
into  the  confidence  of  all  those  who  had  work  to  do 
there. 

Both  as  a  director  and  as  a  pastor,  he  seemed  to  me 
a  typical  man,  almost  an  ideal  man.  At  the  Seminary 
we  thought  of  him  as  belonging  to  the  class  of  men  de- 
scribed in  the  preamble  to  our  charter,  in  words  which 
we  are  fond  of  repeating:  "  who  desire  to  live  free  from 
party  strife,  and  to  stand  aloof  from  all  extremes  of 
doctrinal  speculation,  practical  radicalism  and  ecclesias- 
tical domination";  and  in  his  whole  ministerial  life  he 
was  one  to  whom  we  need  not  hesitate  to  apply  the  words 
of  Jehovah,  spoken  of  one  of  his  ministers  of  old :  "  The 
light  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  unrighteousness  was 
not  found  in  his  lips.  He  walked  with  me  in  peace  and 
uprightness,  and  did  turn  many  away  from  iniquity." 

HYMN "O  Paradise" 


O  Paradise  !  O  Paradise  ! 

Who  doth  not  crave  for  rest? 
Who  would  not  seek  the  happy  land, 

Where  they  that  loved  are  blest? 

Ref. — Where  loyal  hearts,  and  true. 
Stand  ever  in  the  light. 
All  rapture,  through  and  through, 
In  God's  most  holy  sight. 

O  Paradise !  O  Paradise  ! 

The  world  is  growing  old ; 
Who  would  not  be  at  rest  and  free 

Where  love  is  never  cold? — Ref. 


23 


Lord  Jesus,  King  of  Paradise, 

Oh,  Keep  us  in  Thy  love, 
And  guide  us  to  that  happy  land 

Of  perfect  rest  above. — Ref. 

Address.     By  Rev.  George  Alexander,  D.D.,  Moderator 
of  Presbytery: 

When  the  stunning  announcement  smote  upon  my  ear, 
"  Dr.  Richards  died  last  night,"  my  first  thought  was, 
"How  is  it  possible  to  go  on  without  him?"  He  had 
become  so  closely  interlaced  with  those  interests  which 
are  to  me  most  worth  while,  that  his  sudden  removal 
seemed  for  the  moment  to  imply  disorganization  and 
collapse.  But  he  was  a  wise  master  builder.  His  work 
abides  because  the  qualities  of  his  soul  went  into  it. 
Others  may  build  thereupon  and  not  labor  in  vain,  for 
the  work  is  sound. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  linked  with  him  in  sev- 
eral departments  of  Christian  service,  preeminently  in 
two — in  the  effort  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
York  City  to  do  its  part  in  the  advancement  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  here,  and  in  her  endeavor  to  fulfill  the  last 
commission,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."  In  this  latter  relation  I  first 
came  to  know  the  caliber  and  the  quality  of  the  man. 
It  was  while  he  was  yet  pastor  in  Plainfield  that  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  For 
almost  twenty  years  we  have  been  comrades  in  that 
service,  and  he  has  been  an  evergrowing  factor  in  the 
prosecution  of  that  great  enterprise.  The  first  thing  that 
impressed  me  was  the  faithfulness  of  the  man,  his  down- 
right faithfulness.  He  had  accepted  a  trust,  and  he 
could  not  play  fast  and  loose  with  it.  In  the  earlier 
years  of  that  service  he  was  the  most  remote  member  in 
point  of  residence ;  in  the  later  years  he  was  burdened 
with  the  cares  and  toils  of  a  great  parish ;  but  no  one 
was  more  constant  and  more  punctual  in  attendance;  no 
one  was  less  disposed  to  repudiate  any  demand  upon 
his  time  and  energy.  In  the  pictorial  phrase  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  he  was  "  a  man  to  tie  to." 

His  fidelity   was  matched  by  his  thoroughness.     He 

24 


could  not  do  a  slovenly  piece  of  work.  When  an  in- 
tricate problem  was  submitted  to  him,  with  the  utmost 
patience  he  laid  bare  the  essential  facts,  and  then  marched 
to  his  conclusion  quietly,  considerately,  but  with  the  in- 
evitableness  of  fate.  A  piece  of  work  that  he  had  done 
needed  no  revision ;  it  had  been  done  thoroughly ;  it  had 
been  done  right.  His  brotherliness  was  a  feature  no  less 
marked.  It  grew  and  mellowed  with  the  flight  of  years. 
The  men  and  women  who  are  enduring  hardships  as 
good  soldiers  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  in  heathen  lands, 
gripped  his  heart.  He  sympathized  with  them  in  their 
spiritual  warfare.  His  whole  nature  expanded  under  the 
sense  of  the  grandeur  and  heavenliness  of  their  enter- 
prise. 

As  a  Presbyter,  he  touched  intimately  a  larger  number 
of  colaborers.  Born  and  bred  in  another  communion, 
he  was  becoming  every  year  in  fuller  sympathy  with 
the  genius  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Not  that  he 
was  becoming  sectarian,  that  was  impossible;  not  that 
he  was  loving  less  the  communion  in  which  he  was  born 
and  reared ;  but  he  was  coming  to  appreciate  more  fully 
how  facile  and  powerful  an  instrument  the  Presbyterian 
Church  may  be  for  the  promotion  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  among  men.  In  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  dur- 
ing the  eight  years  of  his  Service  here  he  was  a  unifying 
and  an  uplifting  force.  His  puritan  inheritance,  his 
broad  culture,  his  keen  intelligence,  his  fearlessness,  and 
his  friendliness,  gave  him  a  place  of  leadership  which 
he  neither  sought  nor  shirked.  He  became  the  presid- 
ing officer  of  the  Presbytery  at  a  critical  time,  when  it 
was  trying  to  resolve  itself  from  an  aggregation  of  atoms 
into  an  organism  in  which  every  member  should  throb 
with  the  common  vitality,  and  to  win  for  the  adminis- 
tration the  confidence  of  the  men  of  light  and  leading 
within  the  Presbyterian  fold.  What  has  been  accom- 
plished— and  much  has  been  accomplished — what  has 
been  accomplished  could  not  have  been  without  William 
R.  Richards.  No  one  ever  suspected  him  of  interested 
motives  or  tortuous  methods,  and  his  keen  glance  con- 
veyed the  intimation  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  try 
tortuous  methods  with  him.  Few  know  how  much  it 
cost  him  during  the  two  terms  of  his  incumbency  to  bear 
that  which  came  upon   him  daily,  the  care  of  all  the 

25 


churches.  What  he  did  in  warning  the  unruly,  support- 
ing the  weak,  and  appeasing  strifes  has  made  the  epis- 
copal oversight  of  the  Presbytery  mean  more  than  it  ever 
meant  before.  It  was  characteristic  of  the  man  that, 
when  he  laid  down  this  office,  he  did  not  refuse  to  be  the 
most  trusted  and  helpful  adviser  of  his  successor. 

He  lived  to  serve,  he  loved  to  serve.  He  rests  now 
from  his  labors  and  his  works  do  follow  him.  They 
follow  him ;  yet  they  stay  with  us.  Life  will  mean  more 
to  us  because  he  lived  and  wrought  at  our  side.  For 
myself  I  have  one  regret.  He  was  not  a  man  to  invite 
effusiveness,  and  I  never  told  him  how  large  a  place  he 
filled  in  my  heart.     Perhaps  he  knew  it;  I  hope  he  did. 

Dr.  van  Dyke: 

The  next  address  will  be  made  by  our  friend,  Dr. 
Henry  A.  Stimson,  representing  the  Congregational 
Church,  from  which  Dr.  Richards  brought  his  strength 
and  devotion  to  the  service  of  the  church  of  his  later 
years,  and  after  that  Mr.  John  E.  Parsons,  representing 
the  Session  of  the  Brick  Church,  will  read  from  some 
of  the  letters  which  have  been  received  and  from  the 
minutes  adopted  by  the  Session,  and  the  prayer  will 
be  offered  by  Dr.  Coe,  the  Senior  Minister  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  this  city. 

Address.    By  Rev.  Henry  A.  Stimson,  D.D.,  of  the  i^.Ian- 
hattan  Congregational  Church : 

When  God  has  taken  from  us  one  whom  we  loved  and 
have  long  known,  we  are  less  concerned  with  what  others 
may  say  of  him,  however  valuable  or  eloquent  that  may 
be,  than  we  are  with  what  we  find  he  was  to  us.  The 
one  is  quickly  crowded  out  of  mind  by  the  pressure  of 
the  world  in  which  we  are  living,  the  other  furnishes 
the  material  for  sweet  memories  and  the  substance  for 
the  building  of  character,  which  we  all  find  so  hard  to 
achieve,  and  which  is  beyond  price.  Therefore,  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  you,  dear  friends,  concerning  the  his- 
tory of  our  brother,  or  his  denominational  relationship, 

26 


or  of  any  contribution  which  the  church  to  which  I  be- 
long may  have  rendered  to  you  in  him.  I  can  only  justify 
myself  in  occupying  a  few  moments  as  I  try  to  tell  you 
what  he  was  as  I  knew  him,  to  help  you  to  know  what 
he  was  to  you.     That  is  the  important  thing. 

When  I  think  of  our  brother  as  I  first  knew  him  in 
his  New  England  home  in  the  company  of  his  mother 
and  his  sisters,  I  think  of  him  as  an  old-fashioned  Chris- 
tian. Brought  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  country  par- 
sonage, surrounded  with  the  gentle  faces  and  quiet 
voices  of  his  mother  and  his  sisters,  in  an  atmosphere 
of  love  and  purity,  steadfast  devotion,  and  care  for  the 
welfare  of  others,  where  prayer  was  constant  and  faith 
was  simple  and  satisfying,  and  life  was  well  ordered,  in 
the  fear  of  God,  he  began  his  career  with  the  prepara- 
tion, which  went  far  toward  making  him  the  man  that 
he  became.  Despite  what  historians  tell  us  of  the  vice, 
the  irreligion  and  the  profligacy  that  were  prevalent  in 
our  country  in  past  times,  when  we  meet  such  men  and 
think  of  the  homes  from  which  they  came,  there  is  rea- 
son why  the  thought  of  a  Golden  Age  still  abides  in  the 
heart  of  Christian  people. 

When  I  think  of  him  as  he  was  in  college,  and  as  he 
was  in  the  Seminary,  it  is  of  a  beautiful  youth,  a  fine 
scholar,  a  leader  of  men,  but  gentle,  kindly,  self-con- 
trolled, one  of  the  best-loved  men  of  his  class.  Later 
I  remember  well  the  pride  with  which  I  listened  to  him 
as  he  stood  in  the  great  assembly  of  graduates  at  New 
Haven  at  the  annual  gathering  in  Alumni  Hall  to  speak 
for  his  class.  Erect,  manly,  eager,  intelligent,  with  his 
beautiful  face  and  his  flashing  eye,  which  appealed  to 
the  crowd  of  the  Alumni  with  a  power  that  was  as 
thrilling  and  as  persuasive  as  it  was  evidently  all  uncon- 
scious to  himself;  a  beautiful  vision  of  the  splendid  youth 
that  in  their  best  estate  our  American  colleges  are  con- 
tributing to  the  life  of  the  land. 

Years  passed  in  what  was  almost  the  retirement  of  his 
New  Jersey  parish,  but  as  from  time  to  time  he  emerged, 
everyone  saw  that  his  evident  growth  in  intellectual 
power,  in  strength  and  dignified  impressiveness,  was  the 
mark  of  a  man  who  was  doing  his  work  right  nobly, 
and  was  in  the  finest  way  successful  in  impressing  him- 
self upon  the  people  among  whom  he  lived,  while  he  was 

27 


building  up  a  great  and  useful  church,  to  be  his  monu- 
ment and  his  joy.  As  we  have  known  him  of  late,  older, 
and  burdened  with  the  care  and  the  responsibility  of  a 
great  city  parish,  there  was  the  same  reserve  strength, 
the  same  self-control,  with  the  ripening  judgment  and 
the  increasing  force,  and  the  same  self-forgetful  person- 
ality. Beneath  all  was  the  humorous  spirit  which  found 
its  opportunity  of  expression  in  the  intimate  fellowship 
of  his  friends. 

The  old  Latin  word  from  which  our  English  word 
"  culture  "  comes  has  had  a  fine  ascent  of  meaning.  It 
was  originally  applied  to  the  cultivation  of  the  garden 
and  the  field,  of  the  fig  and  of  the  vine.  Then  it  was 
used  of  the  garments,  and  the  equipage,  and  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  home.  Then  it  was  applied  to  intellectual 
refinement  and  education;  and  last  of  all,  and  only  last 
of  all,  it  came  to  denote  worship,  the  uplifting  of  the 
thought  toward  the  unseen.  Now  to-day  there  are  many 
about  us  whose  conception  of  culture  is  dwarfed  and 
incomplete.  They  are  distinctive  in  costume,  in  equip- 
age, in  the  adornment  of  their  homes,  but  to  them  can 
be  applied  the  term  only  as  it  was  arrested  midway  in 
its  development.  They  are  refined  in  manner  and  cul- 
tured in  thought  and  speech,  and  there  they  stop.  The 
effect  of  their  culture  is  to  separate  them  from  their 
fellow  men.  They  become  exquisite  and  remote.  They 
are  content  to  hold  themselves  aloof  from  the  crowd, 
and  to  deal  with  the  needs  of  the  community  and  even 
with  the  obligations  of  civic  life  at  arm's  length,  or  with 
so  much  of  service  as  gifts  of  money  may  occasionally 
produce,  while  they  themselves  move  on  in  their  own 
selfish  way,  unconcerned  except  where  their  personal  in- 
terests may  perchance  be  involved.  The  great  world, 
God's  world,  the  place  of  the  coming  in  of  His  King- 
dom and  the  upbuilding  of  His  saints,  is  to  them  com- 
mon and  unclean. 

But  there  is  another  culture.  It  is  far  truer  and  it  is 
of  a  far  higher  type.  It  is  the  culture  to  which  the  word 
can  be  applied  when  it  is  raised  to  its  full  scope  and 
splendor.  It  describes  the  man  who  has  learned  to  know 
God,  who  has  surrendered  his  life  to  Him  and  is  busy 
ordering  it  according  to  the  pattern  that  has  been  given 
to  him  in  Jesus  Christ.     He  also  is  gentle  and  refined, 

28 


but  it  is  a  refinement  that  is  within,  that  penetrates  deep 
into  the  soul,  and  of  which  the  outer  Hfe  can  never  be 
more  than  an  imperfect  and  somewhat  crude  expres- 
sion. The  further  he  advances,  the  humbler  he  becomes ; 
the  more  he  knows  of  God,  the  less  he  thinks  of  himself 
and  the  tenderer  his  heart  is  toward  the  failures  of  his 
fellow  men.  He  becomes  more  loving  for  he  knows  how 
much  God  has  to  forgive  in  him  and  how  much  God 
has  still  to  confer  before  he  will  be  what  God  would 
have  him  to  be.  Therefore  he  is  patient  with  his  fel- 
lows, and  realizes  more  and  more  his  oneness  with  them. 
He  is  the  man  who  softens  as  he  ripens ;  in  him  old 
age  takes  on  its  divine  beauty  when  the  shadows  of  earth 
lengthen,  but  the  light  of  heaven  begins  to  be  seen.  Year 
by  year  he  grows  in  the  breadth  of  his  sympathies  and 
in  the  generous  efficiency  of  his  brotherly  service. 

Now  it  was  this  culture  that  marked  our  brother  in  a 
preeminent  degree.  His  was  the  refined  and  gentle,  the 
highly  developed  attainment  of  the  beautiful  Christian. 
He  was  a  saintly  man,  both  because  of  the  sincerity  and 
the  simplicity  of  his  intimacy  with  God  and  of  the  ten- 
derness and  the  constancy  of  his  love  for  men. 

The  last  time  we  were  together,  a  few  days  before  his 
death,  I  met  him  returning  from  a  house  of  over- 
whelming sorrow.  He  was  so  distressed  that  he  could 
speak  of  it  only  in  broken  tones,  and  the  reality  of  his 
sorrow  was  marked  in  every  line  of  his  face. 

"  He  was  courteous  as  a  Knight  of  old, 
And  he  the  very  soul  of  friendliness. 
The  spirit  of  youth  lost  never  in  him  its  power; 
So  sweet  his  soul,  his  passing  smile  could  bless. 
But  this  one  passion  all  his  long  life  held, 
To  serve  his  Master  to  the  last  lingering  hour." 

He  was  a  gift  of  God  to  this  great  church  and  also  to 
the  community,  of  a  value  that  can  hardly  be  put  in 
words,  and  this  will  be  realized  by  many  a  heart  which 
has  felt  his  impress,  and  which  I  hope  this  service  will 
aid  in  long  cherishing  his  beautiful  memory. 

The  summons  came  to  him  as  he  would  have  wished, 
in  the  fulness  of  his  strength,  in  the  midst  of  his  work, 
in  the  quiet  of  his  home,  in  the  companionship  of  those 

29 


he  loved  and  who  loved  him  most,  and  without  a  pain. 
It  was  a  euthanasia,  a  translation  from  the  toilsome  sor- 
row-marked service  of  earth  to  the  glories  of  that  better 
life,  where  God's  "  servants  are  serving  Him,"  and 
where  sorrow  and  death  do  not  enter.  If  in  the  last 
hour  he  could  have  spoken,  he  would  have  perhaps  used 
the  words  with  which  the  dying  Sir  Walter  Scott  spoke 
to  Lockhart :  "  My  dear  Lockhart,  be  a  good  man ;  noth- 
ing else  will  give  you  any  comfort  when  you  come  to 
die." 

I  hear  voices  in  this  place  to-night — voices  no  longer 
sounding  on  earth,  but  joining  in  the  praises  of  Heaven. 
As  we  think  of  the  new  voice  added  to  them,  if  our 
faith  be  true,  we  do  not  mourn ;  we  rejoice  at  the  battle 
won,  and  at  the  triumph  of  a  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  God  has  given  us  a  friend  forever.  We  have 
known  a  manly  man.  Let  us  thank  God,  and  take 
courage. 

John  E.  Parsons,  Esq.,  President  of  Board  of  Trustees 
of  Brick  Church: 

In  the  short  time  which  has  intervened  since  Dr.  Rich- 
ards' death,  communications  occasioned  by  his  death 
have  come  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  from 
the  British  Ambassador,  from  the  Session  of  Christ 
Presbyterian  Church,  from  the  Church  of  the  Covenant, 
from  the  congregation  of  the  Central  Church  at  Bath, 
Me.,  in  which  Dr.  Richards  began  his  ministry;  from 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  from  the  directors  and 
from  the  faculty  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  from 
the  Church  Extension  Committee  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  from  the  trustees  of  the  Yale  corporation, 
from  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  from 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions,  from  the 
New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society,  from  the 
Session  of  the  Madison  Avenue   Presbyterian  Church, 

30 


from  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  from 
the  Englevvood  Presbyterian  Church,  from  the  Marble 
Collegiate  Church,  from  the  West  End  Presbyterian 
Church,  from  the  Congregation  of  the  Church  of  the 
Pilgrims,  Brooklyn,  from  the  directors  of  Whittier  House 
of  Jersey  City,  from  the  American  Tract  Society,  from 
the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  many  others. 
There  would  not  be  time  to  read  at  length  all  these  com- 
munications, but  a  few  passages  from  some  of  them  I 
am  commissioned  to  read.  [Mr.  Parsons  then  read  some 
of  the  communications  printed  in  this  volume.] 

Prayer.    By  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  B.  Coe,  of  the  Collegiate 
Reformed  Church : 

Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  hast  ever 
been  the  refuge  and  strength  of  Thy  people,  whose  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  Thy  thoughts  as  our  thoughts, 
but  whose  wisdom  cannot  err,  and  whose  compassions 
never  fail,  we  thank  Thee  that  among  the  mysteries  and 
sorrows  of  life  we  may  look  to  Thee  for  light  and  com- 
fort, while  we  bow  to  Thy  most  Holy  Will.  We  thank 
Thee  for  the  great  blessing  which  Thou  hast  granted 
to  us  in  the  life  and  work  of  Thy  servant,  our  brother 
and  friend,  whom  Thou  hast  called  from  Thy  service 
among  us  on  earth  to  other  and  higher  spheres  of  service. 
We  thank  Thee  for  his  strong  faith  in  Thee  and  in  the 
gospel  of  Thy  grace,  in  Jesus  Christ ;  for  the  earnest- 
ness and  power  with  which  he  preached  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  and  for  the  witness  which  he  bore  to  it  in 
his  daily  life ;  for  his  unwearied  devotion  to  all  the  work 
of  the  Master  in  which  Thou  didst  so  richly  bless  his 
labors ;  for  his  sympathy  with  all  the  needs  and  sorrows 
of  human  life,  and  his  earnest  endeavor  to  bring  men, 
here  and  everywhere,  under  the  power  of  Thy  truth  and 
into  fellowship  with  Thyself;  for  the  many  ways  in 
which  he  rendered  lasting  service  to  this  church,  to  this 
community,  and  to  the  world.     In  loving  and  grateful 

31 


memory  of  him,  we  praise  Thee  for  his  good  example, 
for  the  inspiration  of  his  friendship,  for  the  abiding  in- 
fluence of  his  character  and  spirit,  for  the  new  purposes, 
and  hopes  and  aims  awakened  by  him  in  many  souls,  and 
for  our  firm  assurance  that  he  is  now  with  Thee.  We 
commend  to  Thy  most  tender  consolation  and  care  those 
who  were  nearest  to  him  in  life,  and  on  whom  his  death 
has  brought  the  deepest  sorrow.  We  beseech  Thee  to 
uphold,  strengthen  and  comfort  them  with  the  constant 
sense  of  Thy  presence  and  love.  We  pray  for  Thy  bless- 
ing on  this  church,  that  all  who  have  been  here  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  Christian  worship  and  service  may 
illustrate  in  their  lives  the  lessons  they  have  learned 
from  him,  and  may  carry  on  with  undiminished  harmony 
and  zeal  the  work  in  which  he  was  their  leader.  We 
pray  for  the  institutions  with  which  he  was  connected, 
that  others  may  enter  into  his  labors  in  the  same  spirit 
of  loyalty  to  Christ  and  to  mankind.  And  finally  we  be- 
seech Thee  to  grant  that  we,  cherishing  his  memory  and 
inspired  by  his  example,  may  be  diligent  and  faithful 
in  the  work  which  Thou  hast  given  us  to  do,  and,  after 
this  life,  may  enter  with  him  into  the  presence  and  joy 
of  our  Lord.  We  ask  this,  O  most  merciful  Father, 
with  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen. 

HYMN  .        .        .        .        "For  all  the  Saints" 

For  all  the  saints,  who  from  their  labors  rest, 
Who  Thee  by  faith  before  the  world  confessed, 
Thy  name,  O  Jesus,  be  forever  blessed. 

Thou  wast  their  rock,  their  fortress  and  their  might; 
Thou,  Lord,  their  captain  in  the  well-fought  fight; 
Thou  in  the  darkness  drear,  their  one  true  light. 

O  blest  communion,  fellowship  divine! 
We  feebly  struggle,  they  in  glory  shine; 
Yet  all  are  one  in  Thee,  for  all  are  Thine. 

The  golden  evening  brightens  in  the  west ; 
Soon,  soon  to  faithful  warriors  comes  thy  rest; 
Sweet  is  the  calm  of  Paradise  the  blest. 

32 


But  lo,  there  breaks  a  yet  more  glorious  day ; 
The  saints  triumphant  rise  in  bright  array ; 
The  King  of  glory  passes  on  his  way. 

From  earth's  wide  bounds,  from  ocean's  farthest  coast, 
Through  gates  of  pearl  streams  in  the  countless  host, 
Singing  to  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
"  Hallelujah,  Hallelujah  !  " 

Benediction.     By  Dr.  Alexander: 

Now  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again  from  the 
dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make  you 
perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  His  will,  working  in 
you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  His  sight,  and  the 
Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Love  of  God,  the 
Father,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  with 
you  forever. 

SEVENFOLD  AMEN         ....        Stainer 
ORGAN   POSTLUDE— Marche   Solonelle,   Gounod 

The  following  poem  was  printed  upon  the  last  page 
of  the  order  of  service : 

To  Dr.  Richards: 

Strong  shepherd  of  the  sheep  of  God, 
Pastor  that  fed  our  hungry  souls; 

Dark  are  the  ways  our  feet  have  trod. 
No  shepherd  call  our  grief  consoles. 

This  tribute  that  we  render  you, 

In  sudden  sorrow  gathered  here. 
Is  but  the  honor  due  the  dead, 

Sad  homage  to  that  silent  bier. 

Deeper  than  tears  our  questions  search 

In  self -condemning  agony. 
To  know  the  reason  for  this  loss. 

The  cause  of  our  heart's  tragedy. 

33 


What  work  called  out  your  utmost  strength 
Beyond  the  measure  of  its  power? 

What  ministry  of  God-like  love 

Has  brought  us  to  this  lonely  hour? 

To  whose  life's  sorrow  was  it  due 

That  you  should  give  that  last  deep  breath  ? 
What  soul  asked  sympathy  so  great 

It  opened  wide  the  door  to  death? 

What  over-eager  sheep  we've  been, 

Seeking  the  love  you  ne'er  withheld ; 

How  greatly  have  we  asked  of  you, 
By  petty,  selfish  needs  impelled. 

And  now  there  lies  where  you  have  stood. 
In  death's  calm  dignity  at  rest, 

The  outward  semblance  we  have  known, 
Loved  temple  that  your  spirit  blessed. 

The  tenant  that  has  left  it  still 

And  lifeless  where  it  glowed  so  bright. 
Has  gone  that  way  up  which  you  strove 

To  point  weak  men  on  to  the  light. 

The  valley  of  the  shadow  must 

Have  blazed  with  glory  as  you  passed; 
Blessed  men  are  they  who  crossed  with  you, 

Soul  speaking  soul  unto  the  last. 

I  think  you  dwelt  so  near  that  land, 
Your  soul  was  so  attuned  to  God, 

He  could  not  stay  that  one  short  step 

Between  Him  and  the  way  you  trod. 

And  in  some  dream  of  perfect  light — 

The  step  between  full-bridged  in  sleep — 

Your  soul  slipped  from  the  bond  of  earth 

That  held  you,  shepherd,  with  your  sheep. 

Bereft,  sad-hearted,  lonely-souled. 

We  who  have  known  your  ministry 

Of  strength  and  light  and  Christ-like  love 
Shall  comfort  in  our  sorrow  see. 

34 


That  step  that  bridged  the  way  for  you 
Between  dim  paths,  and  Hght  beyond, 

Is  nearer  still  to  those  you  love, 

Unto  your  soul  heaven's  closest  bond ; 

And  in  full  presence  of  God's  light 

Just  that  least  step  between  divides 
Our  grieving  hearts  and  yours  whose  love 
Still  close  and  dear  with  us  abides. 
January  lo,  1910.  Helen  Palmer  Gavit* 

As  many  of  the  following  tributes  as  time  permitted 
were  read  by  Mr.  Parsons. 

Letter  from  the  President  of  the  United  States 
The  White  House,  Washington, 

January  18,  19 10. 

I  am  very  sorry  that  I  cannot  attend  the  memorial 
service  in  the  Brick  Church  for  your  late  pastor.  Dr. 
Richards,  on  Sunday,  January  30th.  I  knew  Dr.  Rich- 
ards well  and  had  known  him  ever  since  he  was  in  col- 
lege. He  was  a  senior  when  I  was  a  freshman.  He 
always  commanded  the  respect  and  affection  of  his  class- 
mates, and  united  with  good  fellowship  and  a  pure  heart, 
great  ability  and  simplicity  of  character.  I  sympathize 
sincerely  with  the  congregation  which  he  has  left  in  their 
great  loss. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Wm.  H.  Taft. 
The  Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
Fifth  Avenue  and  37th  Street, 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

*  Miss  Gavit,  as  Parish  Secretary,  was  intimately  asssociated 
with  Dr.  Richards  in  the  work  of  the  Church.  Only  a  few  days 
before  his  [death  she  was  taken  ill  and  wrote  these  touching 
verses  upon  her  bed  in  a  hospital,  where  she  was  subsequently 
operated  upon  for  appendicitis. 

35 


Letter  from  the  Right  Hon.  James  Bryce,  British 
Ambassador. 
British  Embassy,  Washington. 

January  31,  1910. 

We  were  deeply  grieved  to  hear  of  the  terrible  sorrow 
which  fell  so  suddenly  upon  you  and  desire  to  be  per- 
mitted to  express  to  you  our  sincere  sympathy.  Though 
we  had  so  seldom  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  seeing  Dr. 
Richards  and  of  hearing  him  preach,  we  had  conceived 
a  warm  regard  and  felt  a  warm  admiration  for  him,  and 
had  hoped  for  further  opportunities  of  meeting  him 
and  knowing  him  better.  His  loss  is  indeed  a  grievous 
one  for  the  city  where  he  was  a  power  for  good,  and 
many  are  those  who  will  have  cause  to  mourn  it. 

Pray  forgive  me  for  venturing  to  write  to  you  and 
believe  me  to  be 

Sincerely  yours, 

James  Bryce. 

Christ  Church  Session 

Christ  Church  Memorial  Building, 

336  West  Thirty-sixth  Street,  New  York. 

January  18,  1910. 

Through  the  death  of  the  Rev.  William  R.  Richards, 
D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Brick  Church,  Christ  Church  has 
lost  one  of  its  most  loyal  and  devoted  friends.  At  the 
commencement  of  his  ministry  in  1902  our  work  was 
carried  on  in  the  old  and  inadequate  buildings  in  West 
Thirty-fifth  Street,  which  had  served  it  as  a  home  for 
over  forty  years,  but  which  had  become  outworn  and  out- 

36 


grown  in  the  course  of  that  time.  To-day  we  are  wor- 
shipping and  carrying  on  our  social  activities  in  the 
splendid  Memorial  Buildings,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  complete  centers  of  institutional  church  work  in  the 
city  and  in  the  world. 

This  change  in  our  material  equipment  has  been  at- 
tended by  a  corresponding  growth  in  the  size  and  scope 
of  our  work.  Our  church  has  increased  in  membership 
and  in  contribution ;  our  Sunday  School,  in  spite  of 
great  changes  of  population  in  the  neighborhood,  has 
more  than  held  its  own ;  our  clubs  and  other  social  activ- 
ities have  multiplied  in  number  and  increased  in  mem- 
bership, so  that  the  Church  House  has  become  a  neigh- 
borhood center  of  wide-reaching  usefulness  instead  of 
a  modest  annex  to  the  work  of  the  church  and  Sunday 
School.  These  changes  are  in  a  large  measure  due  to 
the  devoted  interest  which  Dr.  Richards  has  taken  in 
our  work. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  pastorate  he  found  the  plans 
for  our  future  development  in  an  indefinite  and  formless 
condition,  and  gave  himself  patiently  for  many  months  to 
conferences  with  the  committee,  in  which  they  were 
crystalized  and  determined.  He  found  the  funds  for  the 
proposed  building  lacking  some  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  of  the  amount  necessary  to  bring  the  work  to  a 
successful  conclusion,  and  it  was  due  to  his  personal  in- 
terest and  solicitation  that  this  large  sum  of  money  was 
secured.  The  completion  of  the  buildings  in  the  fall  of 
1905  was  an  occasion  of  deepest  satisfaction  to  Dr.  Rich- 
ards and  he  gave  expression  to  the  spirit  which  had  con- 
stantly actuated  him  by  rejoicing  that  in  many  respects 

Z7 


they  were  finer  than  those  which  the  Brick  Church  itself 
possessed.  Dr.  Richards,  until  the  very  day  of  his  death, 
attended  with  regularity  the  monthly  meetings  of  the 
Church  House  Committee;  has  been  with  us  upon  all 
festival  occasions  of  the  year,  and  has  constantly  kept 
the  work  and  its  needs  before  the  people  of  the  Brick 
Church. 

In  addition  to  these  large  material  services.  Dr.  Rich- 
ards endeared  himself  to  the  members  of  our  Session 
and  to  the  congregation  and  young  people  of  the  church, 
through  his  sunny  temperament,  his  vivid  and  earnest 
sermons,  and  his  manifest  interest  in  all  that  pertained 
to  their  welfare. 

The  Session  of  Christ  Church  hereby  records  its  heart- 
felt gratitude  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  the  blessings 
he  has  given  us  through  this  devoted  servant  of  Christ, 
and  its  sense  of  profound  loss  in  his  removal  from  us. 
It  extends  to  the  people  of  the  Brick  Church  and  to  the 
members  of  Dr.  Richards'  family  its  heartfelt  sympathy 
in  their  great  bereavement,  and  its  prayers  for  their  help 
and  guidance  in  the  days  that  are  to  come. 

William  H.  Wilson, 
Clerk  of  Christ  Church  Session. 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Christ  Church 
Memorial  House  Committee  on  January  6,  19 lo,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  William  R.  Richards,  the  pastor  of  the  Brick 
Church,  apparently  in  the  enjoyment  of  fullest  health 
and  brightest  spirits,  met  with  us  to  confer  regarding 
the  needs  of  the  work  for  the  coming  year.  That  night 
he  was  swiftly  and  silently  called  away  from  us. 

38 


The  Memorial  House  Committee,  as  well  as  the  Christ 
Church  Memorial  Building,  was  in  a  large  measure  the 
creation  of  Dr.  Richards'  wise  mind  and  loving  interest 
in  the  affiliated  work  of  the  Brick  Church.  It  was  due 
to  him  that  the  vague  plans,  which  had  been  formed  pre- 
vious to  his  coming  to  the  Brick  Church,  for  the  erection 
of  the  new  buildings  were  definitely  determined  and  the 
money  was  raised  for  the  carrying  out  of  those  plans. 

As  soon  as  the  project  assumed  definite  shape  Dr. 
Richards  met  regularly  with  those  interested  in  the  work, 
and  rendered  valuable  service  in  the  preparation  of  the 
rules  under  which  the  activities  of  the  Memorial  Build- 
ings have  been  so  happily  and  successfully  conducted. 
His  satisfaction  in  the  completion  of  the  new  buildings 
and  the  inauguration  of  the  work  in  them  was  very 
great,  and  that  interest  continued  to  be  displayed  through 
his  regular  attendance  at  the  committee  meetings  and  at 
all  festival  gatherings,  through  his  unfailing  sympathy 
in  all  the  plans  for  the  advancement  of  the  work  and  his 
generous  aid  in  securing  the  money  necessary  for  their 
maintenance. 

The  members  of  this  committee  desire  to  record  their 
deep  appreciation  of  his  splendid  Christian  manhood, 
devoted  services  and  uplifting  fellowship.  Saddened 
at  his  sudden  death  and  our  irreparable  loss,  we  express 
our  gratitude  to  God  that  for  so  many  years  it  was  our 
privilege  to  be  associated  with  him  in  a  work  so  dear  to 
his  heart  and  ours.  We  bear  loving  testimony  to  his 
unfailing  wisdom  and  tact,  unselfishness  and  fidelity.  We 
recognized  in  him  while  living  the  true  marks  of  a  dis- 
ciple of  our  Master,  and  we  rejoice  in  the  assured  faith 

39 


that  there  was  awaiting  him  in  our  Father's  House  the 
welcome  of  our  Lord  to  a  good  and  faithful  servant. 

The  secretary  is  directed  to  record  this  memorial  of 
our  appreciation  and  affection  upon  the  minutes  of  the 
committee,  and  to  forward  a  copy  with  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  to  the  family  of  Dr.  Richards  and  to  the  Ses- 
sion of  the  Brick  Church. 

James  M.  Farr, 
Hector  M.  Hitchings, 

Committee. 

Church  of  the  Covenant, 

To  the  Session  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York  City. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  Church  of  the 
Covenant,  held  February  2,  19 10,  the  following  minute 
was  adopted : 

"  The  Session  of  the  Church  of  the  Covenant  hereby 
records  our  appreciation  of  the  Rev.  William  Rogers 
Richards,  D.D.,  late  pastor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  our  sense  of  loss  in  his  sudden  translation, 
January  7,  19 10. 

"  His  prophetic  outlook  upon  the  needs  of  our  great 
city  and  of  the  world,  and  his  practical  methods  for 
meeting  those  needs,  made  us  all  look  up  to  him  as  a 
great  leader  in  the  promotion  of  God's  Kingdom. 

"  His  brotherly  interest  in  our  work  and  in  us  made 
very  real  and  personal  the  affiliated  relationship  between 
our  churches.  We  shall  ever  hold  in  grateful  memory 
his  wise  messages   from  our  pulpit,  and  especially  his 

40 


prayer  and  benediction  on  his  last  visit,  at  the  close  of 
our  Sunday  School  service  on  Christmas  morning. 

"  We  mourn  the  loss  of  a  tried  and  trusted  leader,  a 
wise  and  loving  counsellor,  a  faithful  and  appreciative 
friend,  a  man  so  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  it  will  ever  be  an  inspiration  to  purer  living  and 
nobler  service  to  have  known  him." 

George  S.  Webster,  Moderator. 

Daniel  H.  Wiesner,  Clerk. 

The  Congregation  of  Central  Church,  Bath,  Me. 

To  the  Session  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  New 
York  City,  from  the  Central  Congregational  Church, 
Bath,  Me. 

January  22,  1910. 

Greeting:  We  have  your  kind  invitation  to  be  pres- 
ent by  representative  delegate  at  the  Memorial  Service 
to  be  held  for  Rev.  Dr.  William  R.  Richards,  in  the 
Brick  Church  January  30th,  and  regret  exceedingly  the 
inability  of  any  member  of  our  congregation  to  be  with 
you  on  that  occasion.*  Absence  in  person,  however,  shall 
not  prevent  our  sending  the  expression  of  our  sincerest 
sympathy  in  the  loss  to  you  and  to  the  church  at  large 
of  this  true  servant  of  Christ. 

We  recall  that  the  fruitful  ministry  of  Dr.  Richards 

was  begun  in  this  city  thirty-one  years  ago.     He  came 

to  Central  Church  directly  from  the  Seminary  and  here 

with   rare  fidelity  and  growing  power  he  labored   for 

five  years.     To  our  Manse,  he  brought  the  bride  of  his 

*  As  was  seen  on  page  17,  Rev.  Mr.  DeMott  found  it  possible 
to  attend  the  Memorial  Service. 

41 


youth ;  here  two  of  his  children  were  born,  and  from  this 
church  he  was  called  to  the  larger  service  in  Plainfield, 
N.  J.  We  recall  that,  during  these  intervening  years, 
his  interest  in  this  parish  has  continued,  and  that  he  has 
always  rejoiced  in  its  welfare.  And  this  feeling  has  been 
returned.  We  have  followed  his  increasing  success  and 
enlarging  usefulness  with  something  of  maternal  pride 
and  thanksgiving,  knowing  that  in  a  sense  we  gave  him 
to  the  world.  Therefore,  we  would  share  with  you  the 
consciousness  of  a  common  loss. 

Will  you  kindly  convey  to  Dr.  Richards'  family  the 
assurance  that  their  sorrow  is  our  sorrow?  Will  you 
express  to  the  Brick  Church  our  sincere  sympathy  in 
having  lost  a  true  leader  in  the  things  of  the  Spirit? 

Rightly  has  he  been  called,  by  one  who  knew  him  well, 
"  a  guide  to  the  heights." 

"  A  heightsman,  clean  of  soul — 
Who  knew  the  unblazed  trails ;  up  heights  unseen 
He  guided  multitudes." 

In  this  let  us  rejoice — that  he,  following  the  Master, 
has  led  men  up  to  God  and  Eternal  Life. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy  and  peace,  we  remain, 
Faithfully  yours, 

Geo.   C.  DeMott,  Pastor. 
Wm.  R.  Shaw,  Clerk. 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York. 

The  Presbytery  of  New  York  is  called,  in  the  all-wise 
Providence  of  God,  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Richards,  a  brother  useful,  honored  and  beloved,  an  ex- 
Moderator  of  this  body,  at  the  time  of  his  death  an  im- 

42 


portant  member  of  the  Moderator's  Council  and  of  the 
Church  Extension  Committee.  The  Presbytery  would 
record  its  grief  at  our  loss,  and  its  appreciation  of  the 
character  and  services  of  our  beloved  fellow  member. 

William  Rogers  Richards,  son  of  the  Rev.  George  and 
Anna  (Woodruff)  Richards,  was  born  in  Boston,  De- 
cember 20,  1853,  received  his  preparatory  education  in 
Mr.  Day's  school  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  and  entered  Yale 
College  in  1871.  On  graduation  with  high  honors  in 
1875,  he  went  for  a  year  to  the  Columbia  Law  School  in 
New  York  City,  then  entered  Andover  Theological  Sem- 
inary and  graduated  into  the  ministry  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  1879.  His  first  pastorate  was  in  Bath, 
Me. ;  while  there  he  married  Miss  Charlotte  Barrett 
Blodget,  daughter  of  the  eminent  missionary  to  China. 
After  nearly  five  years  in  this  charge,  he  was  called  to 
the  Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  in  Plainfield, 
N.  J.  He  rendered  eighteen  years  of  service  there,  and 
was  then  called  to  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 
city,  became  a  member  of  this  Presbytery  in  the  year 
1902,  and  continued  in  most  active  service  until  the  mo- 
ment of  death. 

Dr.  Richards  was  destined  from  birth  to  high  position 
and  large  usefulness.  Of  the  best  New  England  an- 
cestry, with  endowment  of  strength  and  beauty  physical 
and  spiritual,  he  found  himself  from  earliest  years 
placed  and  kept  in  an  environment  tending  to  his  highest 
development.  He  passed  easily  and  quickly  toward  the 
lead,  in  college  life,  in  matters  of  scholarship,  of  religious 
and  of  social  life.  He  developed  in  early  days,  and  to  a 
large  degree,  the  faculty  of  success  in  whatever  he  under- 

43 


took.  The  influences  of  his  briUiant  college  career 
marked  him  through  his  life's  work.  To  the  end  he  re- 
tained his  scholarly  habits,  clearness  of  thought,  close 
friendships,  fondness  for  outdoor  Hfe,  readiness  and 
power  in  dealing  with  men,  and  his  religious  consecra- 
tion. 

In  his  Plainfield  pastorate  he  was  markedly  successful. 
The  church  grew  greatly  in  numbers  and  in  power, 
branches  developed,  the  pastor  in  chief  became  widely 
influential  and  in  many  and  varied  spheres  of  life.  On 
special  occasions  he  took  a  wise  and  helpful  part  in 
politics,  when  moral  issues  were  clearly  at  stake.  He 
was  called  to  the  Moderatorship  of  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey,  and  became  widely  useful  as  a  Presbyter.  He 
won  the  confidence  and  love  of  his  church  to  a  rare  de- 
gree. The  relation  between  that  pastor  and  his  people 
became  ideal. 

When  called  to  the  Brick  Church  of  this  Presbytery 
he  did  not  want  to  come ;  but  God  made  it  plain  to  him, 
and  to  others,  that  the  path  of  duty  lay  thus.  The  strug- 
gle was  hard ;  but  bravely  and  determinedly  he  set  his 
face  according  to  his  Master's  will.  It  required  high 
courage  and  devotion  on  his  part  to  leave  the  happiness, 
security  and  promise  of  the  well-established  home  and 
work  and  to  go  out  into  the  new  country,  knowing  little 
of  whither  he  went.  Many  of  us  remember  the  difficult 
conditions  into  which  he  came.  From  the  first  he  mas- 
tered circumstances,  compelled  respect  and  appreciation, 
won  love  and  following,  led  onward  for  his  church  as 
for  himself  into  widespread  usefulness.  The  social  and 
religious  service  of  that  church  has  never  been  so  large 

44 


as  under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Richards  and  the 
men  who  have  sustained  him  through  these  years.  Al- 
most the  first  great  matter  that  he  undertook  was  to 
secure  the  large  amount  of  money  needed  to  establish 
the  beautiful  memorial  for  his  beloved  predecessors, 
which  now  stands  on  our  roll  as  Christ  Church.  As  one 
of  his  associates  has  said,  "  his  heart  was  in  the  tene- 
ments although  his  church  was  on  Fifth  Avenue."  And 
in  many  ways  the  foundations  of  his  church  were  deep- 
ened and  broadened. 

In  our  Presbytery  Dr.  Richards  soon  became  a  leader, 
revealing  himself  as  wise,  resourceful,  controlling.  He 
was  made  Moderator,  and  held  this  position  for  three 
terms.  His  spirit  of  fairness,  his  breadth  of  vision,  his 
attention  to  detail,  his  conciliatory  attitude  where  pos- 
sible, were  conspicuous.  At  a  time  when  a  spirit  of 
separativeness  was  feared,  he  seized  the  idea  of  a  partial 
reorganization  of  Presbytery,  and  did  much  to  inau- 
gurate a  new  era  of  mutual  confidence  and  prosperity. 

His  services  to  the  church  at  large  were  many  and 
great.  He  was  made  Vice-Moderator  of  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1906,  and  presided  with  conspicuous  power. 
He  was  appointed  on  several  important  committees  hav- 
ing in  charge  the  welfare  of  the  church.  On  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  his  services  were  notable,  the  pres- 
ident of  that  Board  testifying  that  his  judgment  seemed 
almost  infallible  on  the  questions  presented.  In  the  re- 
lations of  our  church  to  other  branches  of  the  great 
Church  of  Christ,  and  in  the  irresistible  movement  of 
all  the  Christian  churches  toward  unity  of  efifort,  whether 
or  not  of  organization.  Dr.  Richards  was  farseeing  and 

45 


helpful.  He  had  deep  interest  in  efforts  for  social  up- 
lift and  political  purification,  yet  he  was  never  carried 
away  by  the  wild  enthusiasms  of  the  moment  or  by  im- 
practicable schemes  of  betterment.  He  was  widely  wel- 
comed and  successful  as  a  college  preacher. 

Our  Presbytery  at  this  time  thinks  of  the  man  as  well 
as  of  his  service.  We  found  that  he  was  loving  and 
lovable;  that  he  wanted  to  help  us  all.  As  a  preacher 
he  was  strongly  intellectual  yet  fervently  appealing.  He 
had  a  message  to  deliver  for  his  Master,  and  he  uttered 
the  message  with  clearness  of  thought,  felicity  of  dic- 
tion, and  force  of  appeal.  He  was  faithful  in  the  pas- 
toral office,  doing  conscientiously  the  routine  work  of  an 
ambassador  for  Christ  in  personal  relations  with  men. 
He  gave  himself  without  reserve  to  the  work  and  the 
world,  in  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  came  not  to  be  min- 
istered unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ran- 
som for  many. 

At  midnight  the  call  came  to  him,  and  found  him 
ready.  Happy  transition  from  the  high  point  of  his  use- 
fulness here,  to  the  higher  activities  of  the  life  beyond! 
We  are  missing  him  greatly,  in  our  Presbytery  and  in 
our  hearts.  We  sympathize  with  the  bereaved  members 
of  his  household.  But  we  would  take  this  occasion  to 
express  the  triumph  of  Christian  faith.  He  is  not  dead 
— he  cannot  die.  We  believe  that  the  Master  has  said  to 
him :  "  Well  done  good  and  faithful  servant ;  thou  hast 
been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  set  thee  over  many 
things.    Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord." 

Anson  P.  Atterbury, 

Chairman  of  Committee. 
46 


The  Men's  Association  of  Brick  Church. 
Minute   Adopted  March  14,  igio. 

During  Dr.  Richards'  pastorate  in  the  Brick  Church, 
his  intense  loyalty  to  the  Master's  service  made  its 
lasting  impress  on  all  the  varied  activities  of  the 
Church,  but  upon  none  more  strongly  than  upon  the 
work  of  the  Men's  Association,  and  while  we  have  left 
to  others  the  summing  up  in  more  complete  form  the 
life  of  our  late  beloved  Pastor,  we,  as  an  Association, 
desire  to  record  upon  our  Minutes  a  tribute  of  affec- 
tion for  that  faithful  Ambassador  for  Christ  who  dur- 
ing eight  years  was  our  spiritual  guide,  and  our  in- 
timate and  loving  associate  and  friend. 

Immediately  upon  assuming  the  pastorate  of  our 
Church,  Dr.  Richards  entered  into  the  spirit  and  fel- 
lowship of  this  Association  with  that  hearty  devotion, 
that  singleness  of  purpose,  and  that  earnest  self- 
sacrifice  which  were  characteristic  of  all  his  labors 
among  us. 

He  was  a  regular  attendant  at  our  meetings,  and 
always  contributed  to  the  interest  of  the  evening. 
Whether  he  related  some  humorous  personal  experi- 
ence, or  told  of  some  interesting  Summer  travel,  or 
merely  took  occasion  to  thank  an  Association  lecturer 
for  his  services,  he  would  draw  upon  his  admirable 
equipment  as  a  speaker  and  by  his  refined  taste,  his 
nobility  of  thought,  or  his  fund  of  good  humor,  never 
failed  to  charm  his  hearers. 

Dr.  Richards  gave  to  this  Church,  and  to  this  Asso- 
ciation, the  full  measure  of  loyal  devotion,  and,  just 
as  his  love  and  devotion  included  all,  so  the  love  of  all 
went  out  to  him. 

Though  he  was  gentle,  he  was  earnest  and  forceful. 
He  was  an  inspiring  preacher,  a  manly  Christian,  and 

46a 


he  spared  not  his  strength  in  his  work  for  Christ. 
He  was  a  true  shepherd  of  his  flock,  who  pointed  the 
way  home  to  God  with  a  happy  countenance  and  a 
winsome  smile. 

What  his  devotion  accomplished  for  this  Association 
is  our  precious  heritage,  and  the  knowledge  that  our 
love  answered  his  love  is  our  tenderest  memory. 

At  this  time  of  grief  and  sadness  we  look  up  and 
thank  God  that  Dr.  Richards  was  our  brother  in  these 
last  years  of  his  life,  that  we  have  seen  the  sweetening 
of  a  character,  already  lovable  to  an  unusual  degree 
when  he  came  to  us,  and  to  know  that  in  his  uncon- 
scious preparation  for  the  life  beyond,  not  only  he 
himself,  but  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  were 
drawn  closer  and  closer  to  the  Master. 

While  the  call  for  us  has  not  yet  come,  let  us  each 
one  pledge  so  to  live  that  there  may  be  a  joyous  meet- 
ing on  that  yonder  shore,  there  to  share  with  Dr.  Rich- 
ards the  heaven  which  his  companionship  has  already 
brightened. 

(This  tribute  was  received  after  this  memorial  volume  had 
been  printed,  and  is  inserted  as  extra  pages.) 


46b 


Directors  of  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

January  ii,  1910. 

Whereas,  in  the  all-wise  Providence  of  God,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Richards  has  been  called  from  his  earthly  activity, 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  Union  Seminary  would  hereby 
record  our  sense  of  sorrow  and  loss  in  the  death  of  this 
member  of  our  Board,  and  express  our  high  apprecia- 
tion of  his  services  to  this  Seminary  and  to  the  church 
at  large. 

William  Rogers  Richards,  son  of  the  Rev.  George 
and  Anna  (Woodruff)  Richards,  was  born  in  Boston, 
December  20,  1853.  ^^  a  child  he  breathed  the  stim- 
ulating atmosphere  of  ministerial  life.  New  England 
gave  to  him  all  possible  of  physical  health,  intellectual 
discipline,  religious  heritage.  At  Yale  College,  he  quick- 
ly assumed  leadership  in  his  class,  both  as  scholar  and 
friend.  Graduating  in  the  year  1875,  he  entered  the 
Columbia  Law  School  in  New  York  City;  it  is  probable 
that  this  step  was  taken,  not  so  much  with  an  idea  of 
becoming  a  lawyer,  as  to  give  himself  time  to  think  about 
the  great  decision  which  was  already  before  him.  His 
brief  legal  training  was  of  large  avail  later,  in  his  chosen 
profession. 

In  the  fall  of  1876,  he  entered  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  and  came  under  the  inspiring  influences  of 
Edward  A.  Park,  Egbert  C.  Smythe,  J.  H.  Thayer,  and 
others  of  that  time,  and  while  Austin  Phelps  was  still 
lingering  on  the  borderland.  In  the  quiet  and  studious 
life  of  that  institution  he  developed  great  power  and 
promise.  He  graduated  in  1879,  in  a  large  sense  a  "  man 
of  God — furnished  completely  unto  every  good  work." 

47 


At  Bath,  Me.,  the  young  man  began  his  ministerial 
career.  The  seclusion  of  the  far-off  village  could  not 
hide  him.  He  married  Charlotte  B.  Blodget,  daughter 
of  the  Missionary  to  China.  In  the  year  1884  he  passed 
from  Congregationalism  to  Presbyterianism,  and  as- 
sumed the  important  pastorate  of  the  Crescent  Avenue 
Church  in  Plainfield,  N.  J.  Here  he  labored  with  great 
faithfulness  and  success,  and  with  growing  reputation 
for  eighteen  years.  He  refused  chances  for  change ;  he 
looked  upon  himself,  and  became  looked  upon  by  others, 
as  fixed  in  his  life's  work.  But  in  the  year  1902  it  was 
made  evident  to  him,  and  to  others,  that  the  Great  Head 
of  the  Church  wanted  him  to  become  pastor  of  the 
Brick  Church  in  New  York.  This  involved  an  addi- 
tional struggle  of  which  it  was  hard  for  him  to  speak 
afterwards.  He  did  not  waver  when  the  duty  was  made 
plain. 

In  New  York  he  began  cautiously  but  strongly.  After 
a  year  or  two  his  people  and  the  community  in  general 
began  to  find  that  he  was  strong  and  true,  wise  and  lov- 
ing. He  made  many  friends  in  many  spheres  of  activity, 
and  he  bound  them  to  him  as  with  the  "cords  of  a  man." 
His  intellectual  endowments  had  always  been  apparent; 
ever  more  effectively,  the  heart  qualities  became  devel- 
oped, in  preaching  as  throughout  his  intercourse  with 
men.  He  became  a  leader  in  Presbytery;  soon,  and  for 
some  years,  its  Moderator.  He  served  for  several  years 
most  helpfully  on  the  Moderators'  Council.  As  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  he  was  greatly 
useful;  the  president  of  that  Board  has  recently  said 
that    Dr.    Richards'    judgment    on    the    questions    pre- 

48 


sented  seemed  almost  infallible.  He  had  opportunity  to 
show  his  power  when  called  to  the  Vice-Moderatorship 
of  the  General  Assembly  in  1906.  He  was  active  and 
useful  in  many  matters  connected  with  the  social  and 
religious  welfare  of  our  city  and  country.  His  coopera- 
tion was  welcomed  by  leaders  of  other  denominations. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  strong  and  compelling;  as  a 
presbyter  he  was  wise  and  winsome;  as  a  pastor  he  was 
faithful  and  gentle ;  as  a  friend  he  was  tender  and  sym- 
pathetic. He  fought  a  good  fight — and  he  kept  the  faith. 
With  a  mind  opened  to  newer  thought,  he  held  strongly 
to  certain  old  essentials  of  Theology  that  he  had  proved 
in  his  own  spiritual  experience. 

It  was  soon  after  his  transfer  to  New  York  that  he 
became  a  member  of  this  Board.  He  has  added  greatly 
to  the  strength  and  steadfastness  of  this  institution. 
What  public  part  he  has  been  called  upon  to  take  has 
been  fulfilled  with  dignity.  His  services  in  bringing 
Presbytery  and  Seminary  toward  harmony  have  been 
invaluable. 

We  have  been,  of  late,  mourning  the  departure  of 
strong  and  beloved  members  of  this  Board ;  and  now  an- 
other is  taken.  In  the  flood  tide  of  his  power  and  suc- 
cess, he  has  passed  into  the  larger  life.  In  the  midnight 
the  call  came  to  him,  and  found  him  ready.  As  his 
earthly  life,  stainless  and  strong,  now  closes,  we  mourn 
our  loss,  we  sympathize  deeply  with  his  immediate  family 
and  with  his  church,  and  we  rejoice  in  his  triumph. 

Wm.  M.  Kingsley, 

Recorder. 

49 


The  Faculty  of  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

January  12,  19 10. 

The  Faculty  of  Union  Theological  Seminary  desires 
to  put  on  record  its  sense  of  most  grievous  loss  in  the 
death  of  Dr.  WiUiam  Rogers  Richards,  a  member  of 
our  Board  of  Directors  and  an  invaluable  adviser  in  the 
work  of  our  institution.  Coming  from  New  England, 
where  he  was  born  in  Boston  (1853)  he  was  a  splendid 
incarnation  of  the  cool,  lofty,  high-born  sincerity  and 
integrity  that  early  stamped  itself  upon  the  New  Eng- 
land character.  His  legal  training,  before  he  entered 
upon  the  ministry,  had  framed  a  keen  mind  to  exact 
thinking  and  given  it  great  capacity  for  separating  the 
essential  from  the  nonessential  elements  of  any  question. 

His  religious  life  was  no  outward  attachment  to  his 
activities  but  formed  the  warm  motive  power  behind  all 
he  thought  and  did.  Reserve  and  strength  alike  marked 
him,  and  yet  his  reserve  was  no  barrier  between  him 
and  anyone  needing  counsel  or  aid.  Even  his  rare  gifts 
as  a  preacher  could  not  have  given  him  his  unique  hold 
upon  the  lives  and  affections  of  three  such  congrega- 
tions as  those  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Bath, 
Me. ;  the  Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  of  Plain- 
field,  N.  J.,  and  the  Brick  Church,  New  York,  had  not 
his  work  as  sympathetic,  ministering  pastor  made  him  a 
personal  friend  to  young  and  old.  To  know  him  even 
slightly  was  to  trust  him  utterly.  To  have  him  once 
for  a  friend  was  to  have  one  to  whom  one  could  ever 
and  always  turn.  His  firm  faith  made  him  tolerant  of 
intellectual  divergence,  and  even  when  formulae  and  po- 

50 


sitions  dear  to  him  were  challenged,  he  always  wished 
to  meet  the  challenge  only  with  the  appropriate  weapons. 
This  gave  a  largeness  and  richness  to  his  life  that  made 
that  life  invaluable  to  many  seeking  clearer  views  of 
truth  and  duty  amidst  the  confusions  of  the  day.  There 
was  harmony  and  unity  and  such  fulness  of  manhood 
in  him  who  has  been  taken  from  us,  that  we  feel  how 
sadly  that  life  will  be  missed  in  all  its  manifold  relations, 
as  father  and  husband,  as  pastor  and  preacher,  as  friend 
and  counselor.  We  comfort  ourselves  in  his  strong 
faith  which  we  hope  daily  to  make  our  own,  and  rejoice 
amidst  our  sorrows  in  the  rich  fruit  of  the  life's  work. 

Charles  R.  Gillett, 

Secretary. 

The  Church  Extension  Committee. 

The  Church  Extension  Committee  of  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York  records  its  deep  sense  of  loss  in  the  sud- 
den death  of  the  Rev.  William  Rogers  Richards,  D.D., 
the  pastor  of  the  Brick  Church,  in  the  early  morning 
of  January  7th. 

Dr.  Richards  has  been  a  member  of  this  committee 
from  the  time  of  his  coming  to  New  York.  With  a  keen 
sense  of  the  church's  obligations  to  the  entire  community 
and  an  appreciation  of  the  vastness  of  the  problem  raised 
by  the  phenomenal  growth  of  this  metropolitan  city,  he 
threw  himself  into  our  work  with  the  utmost  enthu- 
siasm. He  has  been  a  constant  attendant  at  our  meetings, 
assisting  us  incalculably  with  his  statesmanship,  wise 
counsel,  and  unerring  tact.  He  has  given  much  personal 
attention  to  the  work,  examining  proposed  sites,  and  vis- 

51 


iting  our  young  churches.  He  has  taken  a  vigorous  part 
in  our  campaigns  for  contributions,  plead  our  cause  in 
pubHc  and  private,  and  sought  to  bind  the  churches  of 
the  Presbytery  together  in  a  common  responsibihty  for 
the  advance  of  the  Kingdom  in  this  city. 

Above  all,  he  has  so  endeared  himself  to  each  one  of 
us  by  the  charm  of  his  rich,  tender,  strong  personality 
and  by  his  manifest  consecration  to  Christ  that  we  can- 
not but  miss  him  most  sorely  whenever  we  meet  together 
for  the  discharge  of  duties  in  which  he  had  so  large  a 
share. 

We  desire  to  extend  our  sympathy  to  the  church  he 
has  so  ably  served  and  to  his  family  in  whose  sorrow 
we  feel  we  have  a  part. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Committee — 

Wilton  Merle  Smith,  President. 
Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  Vice-President. 

Yale  University,  Secretary's  Office. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  January  19,  1910. 
I  beg  to  inform  you  that  the  following  minute  appears 
in  the  records  of  the  meeting  of  the  Yale  Corporation 
held  January  13,  19 10: 

"  Voted,  to  direct  the  secretary  to  extend  to  the  family 
of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Richards  the  deep  sympathy  of  the 
President  and  Fellows  on  the  death  of  a  member  of  the 
Corporation  who  was  especially  highly  valued  for  his 
devotion  to  the  university,  his  beauty  of  character,  and 
his  soundness  of  judgment." 

Very  truly  yours, 

Anson  Phelps  Stokes,  Jr. 
52 


The  Board  of  Home  Missions. 

January  i8,  1910. 

Every  member  of  our  Board  feels  keenly  the  loss 
Presbyterianism  has  sustained  in  his  being  called  to  the 
higher  service.  I  am  sure  I  voice  the  sentiments  of  the 
Board  when  I  express  their  hearty  appreciation  of  all 
that  he  was  as  a  man  and  all  the  service  that  he  rendered 
to  the  church  at  large  through  the  various  organizations 
with  which  he  was  connected. 

Not  only  the  Brick  Church,  but  all  Presbyterian  in- 
terests are  the  poorer  for  his  translation.  We  shall  sorely 
miss  that  genial  Christian  manhood,  and  extend  our  ear- 
nest sympathy  to  the  Brick  Church  in  their  bereavement. 
Sincerely  yours, 

C.  L.  Thompson,  Secretary. 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

January  27,  1910. 

'  In  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Rogers  Richards 
(which  occurred  suddenly  at  his  home  in  this  city  on 
January  7,  1910),  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  sustained  an  irreparable  loss. 
He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  in  1890,  and 
during  the  entire  twenty  years  which  have  since  elapsed, 
served  with  conspicuous  fidelity  and  efficiency.  His  at- 
tendance at  meetings  of  the  Board  and  its  subcom- 
mittees was  most  regular;  his  wide  outlook,  long  experi- 
ence and  wise  counsel  were  of  incalculable  value  to  the 
Board.  His  marked  intellectual  qualities,  which  distin- 
guished him  as  a  preacher,  were  evident  in  his  grasp  of 

53 


the  many  important  and  often  perplexing  problems  of 
the  Board,  and  were  most  graciously  and  generously  ex- 
tended. His  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Board  was  mani- 
fested in  many  ways,  and  it  was  quickened  by  his  visits 
to  the  Syrian  and  Mexican  Missions. 

Dr.  Richards  was  for  eighteen  years  pastor  of  the 
Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Plainfield,  N. 
J.,  and  in  1902  accepted  the  call  of  the  Brick  Presby- 
terian Church  of  New  York,  the  pastorate  of  which  he 
held  until  his  death. 

The  Board  desires  to  record  its  afifectionate  appre- 
ciation of  Dr.  Richards'  noble  Christian  character,  his 
striking  and  attractive  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  and 
his  kind  and  courteous  intercourse  with  his  fellow-mem- 
bers in  the  bonds  of  Christian  fellowship. 

In  Dr.  Richards'  death  the  community  has  lost  a  pa- 
triotic and  unselfish  citizen — the  church  a  devoted  pastor 
and  a  preacher  of  rare  power  and  persuasiveness,  and 
a  leader  of  courage  and  wisdom. 

Resolved,  that  this  Minute  be  placed  on  the  records 
of  the  Board  and  a  copy  sent  to  the  family  of  Dr. 
Richards. 

Alfred  E.  Marling, 

Chairman. 

New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society. 

January  18,  1910. 

Our  City  Mission  Society  has  had  no  meeting  since 
Dr.  Richards  died,  and  will  have  none  until  February, 
and,  therefore,  we  have  no  resolutions  adopted, 

54 


In  view  of  these  conditions,  let  me  say,  as  President 
of  the  City  Mission,  that  we  deeply  sympathize  with 
the  church  in  the  very  great  loss  it  has  sustained  in  the 
death  of  Dr.  Richards.  The  Brick  Church  has  always 
been  most  catholic  in  its  sympathy  and  in  its  beneficence. 
Dr.  Richards  led  it  along  these  same  lines  in  a  most 
intelligent  and  broad-minded  way. 

Not  the  City  Mission  only,  but  the  Evangelistic  Tent 
Work  of  whose  Executive  Committee  I  am  chairman, 
and  many  other  good  causes  mourn  with  you  over  his 
sudden  death. 

He  was  a  man  of  God,  of  well-balanced  judgment, 
steadfast  purpose,  and  of  high  ideals,  and  the  city  is 
poorer  because  of  his  departure,  while  at  the  same  time 
it  is  richer  because  of  his  life  and  labor. 
Yours  very  truly, 

A.   F.    SCHAUFFLER. 

Session  of  Madison  Avenue  Church. 

We,  the  Session  of  the  Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church  desire,  in  the  name  of  the  church  and  congrega- 
tion, to  record  our  sense  of  the  loss  we,  together  with 
all  the  churches  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  have 
sustained  in  the  death  of  the  Rev.  William  Rogers  Rich- 
ards, D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Brick  Church,  and  our  grati- 
tude to  God  for  the  gift  to  our  city,  during  these  past 
eight  years,  of  this  eminent  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 

We  recognize  that,  while  Dr.  Richards  gave  himself 
unsparingly  to  the  work  of  his  own  great  parish  and 
made  the  church  he  served  a  source  of  power  for  the 

55 


Kingdom  of  God,  he  also  bore  on  his  heart  the  needs  of 
all  the  churches,  was  untiringly  active  in  the  work  of 
the  Presbytery,  brought  his  sound  judgment,  kind  heart 
and  unfailing  tact  to  the  solution  of  our  common  prob- 
lems, led  the  Presbytery  in  many  important  advances  in 
the  organization  and  extention  of  its  activities,  stood 
firmly  for  a  broad,  progressive  and  inclusive  church- 
manship  against  all  narrowness  and  traditionalism  and 
exclusiveness,  furthered  the  church's  missionary  enter- 
prise both  by  his  counsel  and  leadership  in  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  and  by  his  close  identification  with 
the  forward  movements  of  the  city,  lent  his  influence 
and  gave  his  personal  service  to  the  causes  of  social  and 
civic  righteousness,  and  above  all,  contributed  in  himself 
a  conspicuous  example  of  the  positive,  modest,  forceful, 
affectionate,  cultured  Christian  gentleman  and  the  able, 
consecrated  and  self-sacrificing  Christian  minister. 

We  wish  to  extend  our  hearty  sympathy  to  the  Ses- 
sion and  people  of  the  Brick  Church  in  their  loss  of 
this  gifted,  faithful  and  beloved  pastor,  and  to  Dr.  Rich- 
ards' family  in  whose  sorrow  we  feel  that,  with  many 
hundreds  of  others,  we  have  a  personal  share. 

Henry  Sloane  Coffin,  Moderator. 
Augustine  Sackett,  Clerk. 

Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church. 

January  9,  19 10, 

Session  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  de- 
sires to  unite  with  all  the  church  of  New  York  and  of 
the  whole  country  in  expressing  to  the  Session  and  con- 

56 


gregation  of  the  Brick  Church  their  grief  and  sorrow 
for  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  R.  Richards,  their 
pastor. 

Session  recalls  the  devotion  to  his  Master's  business, 
his  gentle  grace,  his  earnest  spirit,  his  distinguished 
service  and  the  abundance  of  his  labors  of  love. 

Besides  the  ministry  of  his  own  pastorate,  his  was  the 
care  of  all  the  churches,  and  the  spread  of  the  Kingdom 
at  home  and  abroad,  in  all  Christendom  and  in  all  the 
isles  of  the  sea.  He  spent  himself  upon  education  and 
charities  and  civic  righteousness  and  the  uplift  of  the 
people.  He  had  gained  the  love  and  respect  of  the  whole 
city  in  which  he  dwelt,  and  in  the  height  of  his  power 
and  with  the  promise  of  many  years  of  usefulness,  he 
was  cut  off  in  a  night. 

Truly  God's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways. 

But  while  we  mourn  with  you,  it  is  not  as  those  who 
have  no  hope — for  him  it  is  far  better. 

We  commend  you  and  all  the  church  to  the  word  of 
His  grace  that  He  may  grant  you  good  hope  and  com- 
fort unto  the  end. 

By  order  of  Session, 

S.  B.  Brownell,  Clerk  of  Session. 

Session  of  Englewood  Church. 

Englewood,  N.  ].,  January  lo,  1910. 
To  Rev.  Robert  Davis, 
Brick  Church. 

The  Session  of  our  Englewood  Church  was  called  to- 
gether after  the  service  this  morning,  and  they  deputed 

57 


me  to  write  to  you  to  say  that  you  are  much  in  our 
thoughts  and  prayers  at  this  time. 

The  sad  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Richards  must  be  a  per- 
sonal bereavement  to  you,  as  it  is  a  great  and  most 
deplorable  loss  to  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church. 

Our  Session  and  the  people  of  our  church  sympathize 
with  you  deeply,  and  they  would  like  to  send  through 
you,  if  they  may,  an  expression  of  their  sincere  sympathy 
to  the  Session  of  the  Brick  Church. 

Faithfully  and  respectfully  yours, 

Frederick  B.  Schenck. 

The  Marble  Collegiate  Church. 

January  8,  1910. 
To  the  Session  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church: 

The  Elders  worshiping  at  the  Marble  Collegiate 
Church  desire  to  convey  to  you  an  expression  of  their 
prayerful  sympathy  in  your  deep  sorrow.  The  Lord  be 
with  you.  May  you  be  sustained  and  strengthened  by 
the  consolation  of  His  grace. 

With  regard, 

David  J.  Burrell. 

West  End  Presbyterian  Church. 
To  the  Session, 

Brick  Presbyterian  Church. 
Dear  Brethren  :  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Session 
of  the  West  End  Presbyterian  Church  held  yesterday, 
we  were  appointed  a  committee  to  express  to  you  and 
through  you  to  your  church  and  your  pastor's  bereaved 
family  our  grateful  appreciation  of  his  self-sacrificing  de- 
votion and  that  clear,   intellectual  and   spiritual   vision 

58 


with  which  he  pursued  the  duties  of  his  high  office  as 
minister  of  Christ  Jesus. 

While  we  can  feel  with  you  that  they  are  thrice  blessed 
who  are  called  home  'mid  their  triumphs  in  their  Mas- 
ter's service,  yet  grief  asserts  itself  as  the  church,  in  its 
sense  of  its  loss,  recalls  those  well-spent  years  of  prep- 
aration, development  and  matured  ministry  which  Dr. 
Richards  was  permitted  to  enjoy.  We  lament  with  you 
the  loss  of  a  leader  in  the  church,  an  executive  mind, 
gifted  in  discerning,  not  only  what  his  own  people  need- 
ed, but  also  what,  in  Presbytery,  Synod  and  General  As- 
sembly, the  Presbyterian  Church  stands  for  in  govern- 
ment, faith  and  practice.  Sympathetic  with  all  new  truth, 
with  new  statement  of  old  truths,  proving  all  things, 
holding  fast  to  that  which  is  good,  abounding  in  good 
works,  visiting  the  needy  in  affliction,  in  honor  ever  pre- 
ferring his  brethren.  Dr.  Richards  was  a  rare  combina- 
tion of  scholar,  pastor,  servant,  benefactor. 

With  you  we  honor  the  man — the  man  of  God — his 
work,  satisfied  that  He  who  called  him  both  to  and  from 
his  work,  and  knoweth  all  things  from  the  beginning, 
has  done  best,  and  assured  that  your  people  will  be 
blessed  in  his  death  with  a  new  baptism  of  zeal,  as  they 
were  continually  blessed  in  his  loving  and  wise  ministra- 
tion. 

Commending  you,  your  people  and  the  grieving  family, 
to  the  Lord  of  the  Resurrection  and  of  the  New  Heaven 
and  the  New  Earth,  we  are, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

W.   W.  LOCKWOOD. 

W.  E,  Waters, 
59 


Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

January  9,   19 10. 
To  the  Congregation  of  the 

Brick  Presbyterian  Church, 
New  York  City. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Church  of  the 
Pilgrims  held  Friday  evening,  January  7th,  we  were  re- 
quested to  express  to  you  our  sincere  and  deep  sympathy 
with  you  in  your  great  bereavement. 

In  the  death  of  Dr.  Richards  the  whole  Church  of 
Christ  has  suffered  a  severe  loss  which  will  be  univer- 
sally felt,  but  to  you  who  knew  him  in  the  intimate 
fellowship  of  pastor  and  people,  the  sorrow  must  be 
peculiarly  heavy  and  hard  to  bear. 

We  commend  you  most  affectionately  to  the  only 
Source  of  comfort  and  strength,  assuring  you  of  our 
earnest  prayers,  that  the  promised  Sufficient  Grace  may 
be  given  to  you,  in  this  hour  of  your  need. 

In  behalf  of  the  Church  of  the  Pilgrims, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Simeon  B,  Chittenden, 
Charles  A.  Hull, 
Joseph  Epes  Brown, 
Albro  J.  Newton, 
Arthur  Truslow, 
Thomas  Christie, 
Joshua  M.  Van  Cott, 
F.  H.  Colton,  Deacons. 
Frederick  Cobb,  Clerk  pro  tent. 

60 


Directors  of  Whittier  House. 
The  Brick  Church,  January  21,  1910. 

New  York  City. 

The  Directors  of  the  Whittier  House  in  Jersey  City 
have  asked  me  to  convey  to  you  their  profound  sympathy 
in  this  hour  of  your  trial. 

Dr.  Richards  was  long  a  member  of  our  Board  of  Di- 
rectors and  for  some  years  its  president.  He  was  always 
generous,  faithful  and  helpful.  Whatever  good  our 
work  accomplished  has  been  due  in  no  small  degree  to 
him.  If  it  were  possible  to  put  into  words  our  appre- 
ciation of  him  as  a  man,  as  a  philanthropist,  and  as  a 
Christian  gentleman,  we  should  endeavor  to  do  so.  He 
will  live  for  many  years  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  those 
whom  he  has  helped  to  uplift  and  to  inspire  in  lower 
Jersey  City. 

In  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Whittier 
House,  Amory  H.  Bradford. 

American  Tract  Society. 

January  26,  1910. 

"  I  am  constrained  to  express  our  great  sorrow  over 
the  death  of  your  beloved  pastor.  Rev.  Dr.  Richards.  I 
knew  him  well  enough  to  realize  how  true  and  great  a 
heart  he  possessed.  He  was  one  of  God's  noblemen,  and 
lived  so  devout  and  sincere  a  life  that  he  was  sainted 
prior  to  his  translation.  I  suppose  after  all  we  should 
not  sorrow,  as  he  is  now  enjoying  the  glorious  reward 
that  awaits  the  faithful.  You  have  my  deepest  sympathy, 
each  and  all  of  you,  elders  and  people." 

JuDSON  Swift,  Secretary. 
61 


Minute  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elisabeth. 

Whereas,  the  Rev.  William  R.  Richards,  D.D.,  who, 
while  minister  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  of 
New  York  City,  has  recently  been  summoned  into  the 
glorified  life,  was  for  eighteen  years  prior  to  1902  the 
minister  of  the  Crescent  Avenue  Church  of  Plainfield, 
and  an  honored  member  of  this  Presbytery ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we  hereby  give  expression  to  our  sense 
of  the  loss  sustained  by  our  entire  denomination  and  by 
the  cause  of  Christianity  generally  throughout  our  land 
by  his  apparently  too  early  death.  In  our  judgment,  the 
church  has  lost  in  his  departure  a  preacher  of  marked 
distinction,  a  leader  of  men  of  extraordinary  strength, 
and  above  all  a  Christian  gentleman  of  rare  refinement, 
purity  of  soul  and  consecration  to  the  cause  and  spirit 
of  Jesus  Christ.  We  record  our  appreciation  of  his  no- 
bility and  loveliness  of  character,  as  we  came  to  know 
him  during  his  long  period  of  membership  in  this  body. 

Resolved,  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  by 
our  stated  clerk  to  Mrs.  Richards,  with  the  loving  sym- 
pathy of  all  our  members. 

A  true  copy, 
Attest:  Samuel  Parry,  Stated  Clerk. 

Somerville,  N.  ]., 

January  19,  1910. 


62 


Crescent  Avenue  Church. 

The  Session  of  the  Crescent  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

To  the  Session  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
York: 

On  Friday,  January  7th,  the  congregation  of  this  church 
received  the  tidings  of  the  death  of  Dr.  WilHam  R. 
Richards,  the  minister  of  your  church.  For  eighteen  years 
preceding  his  ministry  to  you  he  was  the  beloved  min- 
ister of  this  church  and  the  strength  of  the  attachment 
which  bound  this  congregation  to  him,  with  the  deep  affec- 
tion and  honor  in  which  he  was  held  by  them,  have  made 
us  sharers  with  you  in  the  great  loss  which  you  have 
sustained. 

With  the  desire  to  express  in  some  degree  the  lasting 
regard  in  which  he  is,  and  will  be,  held  by  this  people  and 
this  community  a  service  in  memory  of  him  was  appointed 
for  the  evening  of  Sunday,  January  i6th,  in  this  church, 
where  the  greater  part  of  his  ministry  was  rendered.  Other 
churches  desired  to  unite  with  us  and  add  their  tribute  of 
love  toward  him  and  gratitude  for  the  years  of  his  work 
here,  which  always  remain  one  of  the  most  deeply  cherished 
memories  of  the  Christian  life  of  this  city. 

At  that  service  addresses  were  made  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Zelie  and  by  Dr.  Richards'  colleagues  in  the  work  of  this 
church,  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Tildon  and  Rev.  G.  Kennedy  Newell, 
formerly  of  Hope  Chapel,  who  gave  expression  to  the  love 
in  which  Dr.  Richards  had  been  held  by  all  his  assistants. 
Mr.  George  A.  Strong  for  the  congregation  gave  a  faith- 
ful appreciation  of  his  life  as  a  preacher  and  pastor,  and 
Mr.  Leander  N.  Lovell,  for  the  eighteen  years  of  Dr.  Rich- 
ards' pastorate  a  member  of  the  Session  with  him,  recalled 
the  experience  of  that  fellowship.  The  Rev.  Charles  L. 
Goodrich  of  the  Congregational  Church  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  E.  Herring  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  fel- 
low-workers with  Dr.  Richards  in  the  ministry  in  this  city 
for  many  years,  bore  testimony  to  the  regard  and  honor 
ever  felt  toward  him  by  those  working  in  other  fields,  who 

63 


ever   found   his   ministry   an   inspiration   and   incentive   to 
them. 

In  acquainting  you  with  the  fact  of  these  tributes  which 
were  spoken,  and  the  silent  one  rendered  by  the  great  con- 
gregation which  gathered  for  this  service  of  love  and 
memory,  we  desire  to  add  our  gratitude  to  yours  for  the 
years  in  which  both  our  churches  have  been  enriched  by 
the  same  gracious  ministry  and  to  unite  with  your  sorrow 
our  own  deep  experience  of  loss. 

John  Sheridan  Zelie, 

Minister, 
Leander  N.  Lovell, 
John  Leal, 
William  D.  Murray, 
Andrew  J.  Gavett, 
Ellis  W.  Hedges, 
Alfred  W.  Duxbury, 
Emerson  E.  Parvin, 
G.  Herbert  Condict, 
John  F.  Harman, 

Elders. 


Baptist  Ministers  Conference, 
New  York  City, 

January  ii,  1910. 
At  the  regular  session  of  the  Conference  held  yesterday 
it  was  unanimously  voted  that  we  convey  to  the  Session 
of  the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  our  condolences  upon 
the  sudden  death  of  its  pastor,  the  Rev.  William  R.  Rich- 
ards, D.D. 

In  the  passing  of  this  noble  man  we  feel  that  the  Chris- 
tian work  of  New  York  City  has  lost  a  most  ardent  advo- 
cate of  Christian  truth  and  righteousness.  Our  prayer  is 
that  the  Heavenly  Father  will  raise  up  as  his  successor  one 
who  will  forward  the  policies  which  were  so  ably  expressed 
in  the  ministry  of  the  deceased. 

Fraternally  yours, 

Arthur  T.  Brooks,  Sec'y. 
64 


New  England  Society 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  New  England  Society  in 
the  City  of  New  York  desire  to  express  their  sense  of  the 
great  loss  to  the  Society  and  to  the  community  in  the  death 
of  their  fellow-director,  the  Rev.  William  R.  Richards, 
D.D.  He  was  a  typical  New  Englander  in  birth,  instinct 
and  education,  in  his  methods,  teachings,  and  examples. 
Born  in  Boston,  educated  in  New  England  schools  and  a 
New  England  university,  he  became,  from  year  to  year, 
more  and  more  an  exponent  of  all  that  is  best  in  New 
England.  A  leader  in  the  life,  and  later  in  the  policies,  of 
his  university,  a  quietly  forceful  man  of  sterling  ideals,  a 
great  thinker  and  a  popular  preacher,  throughout  his  useful 
life  he  remained  steadfast  in  his  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  his  ancestors.  In  his  death  the  New  England  Society 
has  lost  one  of  its  most  lovable,  effective,  and  influential 
directors,  and  the  community  one  of  its  best  types  of  true 
New  England  manhood. 


65 


FROM    NEAR-BY    PULPITS 

St.  Bartholomew's  Rectory, 
342  Madison  Avenue, 

January  12,  1910. 
Dear  Mr.  Davis: 

I  have  your  kind  letter  of  January  nth,  and  in  reply  beg 
to  say  that  the  prayer  which  was  used  at  St.  Bartholomew's 
Church  last  Sunday  is  the  one  "  For  a  Person  under  Afflic- 
tion," in  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  As  you  will  see,  it 
was  changed  to  apply  to  our  brothers  of  the  Brick  Church : 

"  O  merciful  God,  and  heavenly  Father,  who  hast  taught 
us  in  Thy  holy  Word  that  Thou  dost  not  willingly  afflict  or 
grieve  the  children  of  men;  Look  with  pity,  we  beseech 
Thee,  upon  the  sorrows  of  Thy  servant,  for  whom  our 
prayers  are  desired;  especially  at  this  time  we  beseech  Thee 
to  look  with  mercy  upon  the  afflicted  congregation  of  the 
Brick  Church  who  are  this  day  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd." 

In  announcing  to  the  congregation  the  death  of  Dr.  Rich- 
ards I  said,  as  far  as  I  can  remember: 

"  The  Church — the  Christian  Church  at  large  in  this  city 
has  met  with  a  heavy  loss  in  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Richards,  the  pastor  of  the  Brick  Church.  It  was  less  than 
a  week  before  his  death  that  I  had  the  privilege  of  hearing 
him  speak  on  the  subject  of  Church  Unity.  I  have  heard 
many  others  speak  on  this  subject — laymen,  priests,  and 
bishops — but  I  have  heard  no  man  that  seemed  to  me  in  this 
matter  to  have  more  of  the  mind  of  Christ  than  this  great 
priest  of  the  universal  Church.  Our  hearts  go  out  to-day  in 
sympathy  for  his  afflicted  family  and  his  sorrowing  congre- 
gation, but  our  hearts  also  are  cheered  by  the  good  example 
of  a  faithful  ministry  which,  by  God's  help,  we  will  en- 
deavor to  follow." 

66 


It  hardly  seems  to  me  that  such  a  slight  tribute  is  worthy 
of  notice,  but  I  send  it  to  you  and  beg  you  will  make  such 
use  of  it  as  you  may  think  best. 

Pray  believe  me, 

Yours   faithfully, 

Leighton  Parks. 


In  several  other  churches,  on  January  9th,  the  death  of 
Dr.  Richards  was  noticed,  with  special  reference  in  prayers 
or  in  sermons  to  his  worth  and  standing  in  the  Church 
universal.  Most  of  these  appreciations  were  not  preserved. 
The  following  have  been  obtained  by  Rev.  Mr.  Davis : 

Madison  Square  Church. 

At  the  service  on  Sunday  morning,  January  9th,  in  the 
Madison  Square  Church,  Dr.  Parkhurst  in  his  prayer  said: 

"  We  have  this  morning  a  sympathetic  prayer  for  a 
Sister  Church  that  has  again  been  sorely  afflicted  by  the  loss 
of  a  strong,  wise,  faithful,  and  dearly  loved  pastor.  We 
are  devoutly  grateful  for  the  service  which  he  has  ren- 
dered to  his  own  church  and  to  the  churches,  as  well  as 
for  the  deep  and  beauteous  impress  which  he  has  left 
throughout  the  entire  wide  range  of  his  influence.  Forbid 
that  the  flock  which  he  has  so  graciously  shepherded  should 
be  dismayed  by  the  loss  of  him  who  has  led  them  in  and 
out  with  so  tender  care;  and  may  the  fruits  of  his  all  too 
brief  service  go  on  disclosing  themselves  in  years  to  come 
in  the  ever-increasing  vitality  and  activity  of  the  church 
to  which  he  had  given  himself  with  such  unreserve  of  love 
and  devotion." 


Church  of  the  Incarnation. 

At  the  morning  service.  Dr.  Grosvenor  said: 
"  It   is   impossible    for  me   in   this   brief   moment   at  my 
disposal  adequately  to  speak  of  my   friend,  Dr.   Richards. 
His  death  is  all  so  sudden,  so  overwhelming  in  its  unex- 
pectedness that  we  have  not  had  time  to  realize  it.     His 

67 


was  a  beautiful  life,  lived  close  to  God,  and  full  of  loving 
service  for  all  God's  children.  He  was  a  scholar,  a  broad- 
minded,  large-hearted,  wise,  sane  man,  whose  preaching  was 
most  uplifting  and  whose  ministry  to  all  who  knew  him 
was  a  perpetual  benediction.  To  his  family,  and  to  the 
church  so  sorely  afiflicted  we  ofifer  our  deep  and  loving 
sympathy  and  our  earnest  prayers." 

Old  First  Church. 

In  the  Sunday  morning  service  of  the  Old  First  Church, 
on  January  9th,  Dr.  Duffield  gave  expression  to  his  "  deep 
and  irrepressible  emotion,"  alluding  to  "  the  shadow  which 
had  fallen  so  suddenly  on  all  who  were  interested  in  the 
work  of  Christ  in  the  city,"  and  outlining  those  qualities 
"  which  gave  to  Dr.  Richards  such  commanding  and  influ- 
ential leadership  in  public  affairs,  and  which  attached  to 
him  so  warmly  and  closely  those  who  came  into  personal 
contact  with  him — his  breadth  of  vision;  his  strength  of 
purpose;  his  mental  poise;  his  high  ideals;  his  marked  in- 
tellectuality; his  deep  spirituality;  his  untiring  energy,  and 
his  broad  and  gentle  sympathy." 

Chi  Alpha. 

Chi  Alpha  records  the  death  of  its  brother,  Dr.  Wm. 
R.  Richards,  with  a  great  sense  of  sorrow  and  of  irrepar- 
able loss.  While  he  stood  out  before  this  circle  of  brethren 
as  a  great  preacher  he  was  far  greater  as  a  man — and  it 
was  as  a  man  of  brotherly  heart  and  noble  impulses  and 
most  unerring  judgment  that  he  made  his  impression  upon 
this  circle.  His  strength  of  mind  and  purpose  was  mani- 
fest to  all.  All  that  he  did  and  said  revealed  the  extreme 
orderliness  and  clearness  of  his  thinking.  He  was  masterly 
in  his  handling  of  complicated  questions  and  unfailingly 
wise  in  his  conclusions.  His  power  as  a  preacher  was  not 
in  his  great  originality  or  the  sweep  of  his  imagination,  but 
in  the  closeness  of  his  reasoning  and  the  clear-cut  incisive- 
ness  of  his  logic.     His  power  among  men  came  from  his 

68 


unusually   noble   character,   seemingly   untouched   by   ambi- 
tion and  always  unspotted  from  the  world. 

Every  member  of  this  circle  mourns  the  loss  of  a  tried 
and  true  friend,  who  had  an  unusual  capacity  of  enduring 
friendship.  The  sense  of  loss  is  overwhelming  and  this 
circle  records  its  heartbroken  sorrow  in  the  passing  on  of 
one  who  was  most  loved  and  honored  among  us.  It  desires 
also  to  express  heart-deep  sympathy  with  the  members  of 
the  sorrowing  family. 

Century  Association. 

Extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Board  of 

Management. 

William  Rogers  Richards  was  born  in  Boston,  educated 
at  Yale  and  Andover,  was  a  clergyman  first  in  Maine,  then 
in  New  Jersey  and  finally  in  New  York,  where  he  fell  like 
a  soldier  suddenly  stricken  on  the  field  of  battle.  For  no 
man  was  more  thoroughly  enlisted  for  his  warfare  than  he 
was,  and  no  man  threw  himself  more  entirely  into  the  con- 
flict, and  no  man,  conscious  of  the  right,  was  less  indifferent 
to  the  consequences.  Throughout  his  ministry  he  was  a 
keen  combatant  in  the  pulpit;  a  scholar  thoroughly  versed 
in  the  polemics  of  his  age,  social  and  theological,  and  a 
just  man,  ever  ready  to  hear,  and  fearless  to  present  the 
other  side  to  prejudiced  audiences.  Men  heard  him  gladly, 
however  poignant  their  disagreement,  because  of  his  blame- 
les  life,  his  fine  character,  and  especially  because  of  the 
work  he  was  doing  so  untiringly  for  the  regeneration  of 
man  on  earth  as  well  as  beyond.  In  the  faith  committed  to 
him  by  his  Puritan  fathers  he  never  wavered,  but  he  was 
ever  ready  to  modify  and  to  adapt  it  to  new  conditions. 
So  he  walked  serene  and  confident  amid  the  strife  and  bab- 
ble of  tongues,  managing  a  great  institutional  church,  a 
councillor  in  the  affairs  of  New  York  University  and  of 
Yale,  carrying  welcome  messages  to  many  colleges;  a  pro- 
found student  of  education  in  its  bearing  upon  character, 
a  man  of  God — in  the  world  but  not  of  it.  For  six  years 
he   had    enjoyed — thoroughly    enjoyed   and   cultivated — this 

69 


fellowship,  being  regular  in  his  attendance  here  and  keen 
in  his  appreciation  of  his  Century  friendships.  He  was  but 
fifty-seven  when  he  fell  exhausted,  suddenly  and  without 
warning,  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  the  high  duty  which 
he  struggled  so  manfully  and  so  successfully  to  perform. 


70 


NOTICES   FROM   THE   PRESS 

The  secular  and  religious  press  of  New  York  and  else- 
where has  given  space  to  many  appreciations  of  Dr.  Rich- 
ards, and  several  newspapers  have  editorially  commented 
upon  his  great  usefulness,  his  charming  personality,  and 
upon  the  severity  of  the  blow  that  has  fallen  upon  our 
church  and  city,  in  his  death.  The  remarkable  similarity 
in  the  estimates  shows  a  just  and  widespread  appreciation 
of  Dr.  Richards'  qualities  of  soul  and  mind,  but  the  re- 
printing of  many  in  this  memorial  volume  would  be  super- 
fluous.    The  following  will  serve  as  examples  of  all: 

The  Outlook. 

It  requires  no  mean  ability  to  maintain  for  any  great 
length  of  time  a  successful  pastorate  in  New  York  City.  A 
brilliant  preacher  may  attract  a  crowd  and  fill  a  church, 
but  he  cannot  by  his  brilliance  build  up  a  church  into  a 
strong  and  effective  organization.  A  skillful  captain  of 
spiritual  industry  may  organize  into  an  effective  working 
organization  the  forces  which  already  exist  but  he  cannot 
by  his  mere  organizing  ability  create  the  forces  that  are 
necessary,  and  the  momentum  furnished  by  his  predecessor 
gradually  grows  less  and  less.  An  effective  church  must 
therefore  have  either  in  the  one  pastor,  or  in  a  combination 
of  pastors,  both  a  preacher  and  an  organizer,  both  a  creator 
and  a  director  of  spiritual  forces.  It  was  in  this  combina- 
tion of  qualities  that  Dr.  Richards,  the  pastor  of  the  Brick 
Church  of  New  York  City,  excelled;  and  it  was  because  of 
this  combination  that  his  death,  recently,  leaves  so  large  a 
gap  in  the  spiritual  ranks  of  the  great  metropolis.  He  was 
not  a  brilliant  preacher;  but  he  was  what  is  better,  both  a 
luminous  and  a  warm  preacher.  Neither  emotional  nor 
scintillating,  he  gave  both  light  and  warmth  to  every  topic 
he  discussed,  for  he  preached  not  only  on  topics  but  dis- 
tinctly to  men  and  women.  He  was  emphatically  a  human 
preacher,  interested  in  and  therefore  interesting  to  the 
average  man.    At  the  same  time  he  gathered  about  him  co- 

71 


workers,  both  official  and  unofficial,  paid  and  voluntary,  of 
executive  and  administrative  ability,  on  whom  he  devolved 
large  responsibilities  and  to  whom  he  gave  wise  guidance. 
Alike  as  a  personal  friend  and  as  an  executive  head  he 
was  a  wise  counselor,  guiding  with  efficient  methods  to 
well-considered  ends  with  a  wisdom  always  tempered  by 
a  fine  but  uncombative  courage.  In  his  death  the  Presby- 
terian Church  has  lost  a  wise  and  courageous  counselor,  the 
city  a  quiet  and  effective  spiritual  leader,  and  one  of  its 
most  useful  and  influential  churches  a  much  loved  teacher, 
friend,  and  pastor.  The  Outlook  is  glad  to  print  on  another 
page  a  poetic  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this  upright  citizen 
and  loyal  friend  by  President  Finley,  of  the  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York. 


Editorial  New  York  Tribune. 

"A    LIVING   EXAMPLE." 

The  death  of  the  pastor  of  the  Brick  Presbyterian 
Church,  yesterday,  ended  a  life  of  much  sweetness  and 
beauty  and  a  public  career  of  more  than  ordinary  usefulness 
to  the  community.  There  are  probably  other  ministers  in 
this  city  who  are  better  known  to  the  general  public,  but 
it  may  be  doubted  if  there  is  one  who  has  labored  more 
earnestly  or  more  efficiently  to  do  the  real  work  of  the  pas- 
tor of  a  numerous,  needful  and  exacting  congregation.  The 
church  which  was  his  is  one  of  the  historic  churches  of 
New  York,  and  it  is  one  which  has  not  declined  with  age 
but  rather  has  continued  to  increase  in  numbers  and  in- 
fluence, in  the  variety  and  scope  of  its  activities,  and  there- 
fore in  the  demands  which  it  makes  upon  its  pastor's  time 
and  strength.  How  well  Dr.  Richards  served  it,  as  spir- 
itual exhorter  and  guide,  as  intellectual  instructor,  as  ad- 
ministrator of  practical  affairs  and  in  the  tender  and 
intimate  personal  relationships  of  sympathy  and  consolation, 
cannot  be  told  but  must  be  deeply  realized  by  those  who 
had  the  privilege  of  association  with  him. 

The  example  of  his  life  affords  what  should  be  a  con- 
vincing answer  to  those  who  are  quaveringly  inquiring  how 
the  churches  are  to  be  filled  and  how  the  people  are  to  be 
interested  in  them.  Here  was  a  preacher  who  sought  no 
adventitious  aids  to  attract  attention,  yet  who  never  lacked 
a  great  and  deeply  interested  congregation.  Here  was  a 
pastor  who  never  indulged  in  exploits  outside  the  limits  of 
pastoral  duty,  yet  who  never  was  distressed  by  desertions 
from  his  parish.     Here  was  a  religious  teacher  who  sought 

72 


no  new  fantasies  of  faith  and  who  discarded  none  of  the 
vital  and  robust  doctrines  of  his  belief,  and  yet  who  never 
had  occasion  to  lament  the  decline  of  faith  or  the  failure 
of  Christianity  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men 
and  women.  His  was  a  living  example  of  the  way  in  which 
to  make  the  churches  prosperous  and  Christianity  a  trium- 
phant force  in  the  world;  and  it  will  remain  a  living  and 
potent  example  in  his  death  as  it  was  in  his  life. 


Christian  at  Work  and  Evangelist. 

The  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  has  been  unfortunate 
to  a  marked  degree  in  losing  two  such  pastors  after  short 
terms  of  service,  in  the  prime  of  life,  as  Dr.  Babcock  and 
Dr.  William  R.  Richards.  When  Dr.  Babcock  died  a  few 
years  ago  in  Naples,  in  the  very  meridian  of  his  powers,  the 
church  felt  that  in  Dr.  Richards  it  had  found  a  man  who 
would  not  only  carry  on  the  superb  work,  the  foundation 
of  which  had  been  laid  by  Dr.  van  Dyke  and  Dr.  Babcock, 
but  would  bring  to  it  the  new  contribution  of  his  own  rich 
and  peculiar  personality.  And  now,  after  only  a  few  short 
years,  Dr.  Richards  was  suddenly  taken  away.  He  died 
with  no  warning  of  any  kind,  laying  down  his  work  at 
evening  here  and  taking  it  up  in  the  heavenly  world  the 
next  morning.  It  came  as  a  great  blow  to  the  church,  as 
he  had  been  at  his  place  of  service  just  before  he  passed 
away.  The  following  Sunday,  two  days  after  his  death, 
Dr.  van  Dyke  occupied  the  pulpit  and  read  the  sermon  Dr. 
Richards  had  written  for  the  day,  and  which  lay  upon  his 
table  ready  for  delivery.  So  the  pastor,  in  a  very  real 
sense,  being  dead,  yet  spoke.  But  Dr.  Richards  will  speak 
in  the  Brick  Church  for  many  years. 

There  is  not  much  of  outward  incident  to  relate  in  Dr. 
Richards'  career.  It  was  not  dramatic,  as  was  that  of  Dr. 
Hunger's,  full  of  attacks  and  crises  and  spent  in  the  thick 
of  great  controversies,  producing  epoch-making  books,  but 
it  was,  in  a  marked  degree,  the  helpful  life  of  a  parish  min- 
ister, whose  chief  concern  was  to  be  the  real  shepherd  of  a 
flock.  For  many  years  pastor  of  the  large  Presbyterian 
church  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  he  came  to  the  Brick  Church 
with  the  same  thought  of  being  to  its  people  what  he  had 
been  to  the  people  of  Plainfield:  the  pastor,  the  friend,  the 
"  father,"  as  the  Church  has  used  that  word  of  its  spiritual 
shepherds  through  the  ages.  Dr.  van  Dyke  had  crowded 
the  Brick  Church  with  his  brilliance  and  oratory;  Dr.  Bab- 
cock had  filled  it  with  young  men,  drawn  by  the  peculiar 
charm   of   his  personality  and  his   practical   teaching;   Dr. 

73 


Richards  maintained  his  hold  upon  the  great  congregation 
by  his  power  of  friendship  and  the  helpfulness  of  all  his 
preaching.  He  was  not  a  great  preacher,  but  he  was  a 
helpful  preacher,  which  is  perhaps  better  in  the  average 
church.  He  always  took  some  one  truth  needful  to  us  all 
for  happy,  serviceable,  heroic  daily  living,  and  developed  it 
and  applied  it  to  every  phase  of  life.  The  sermons  seemed 
very  simple,  sometimes,  but  sunlight  is  simple,  as  are  all  great 
things.  He  did  not  write  great  books;  he  was  not  very 
actively  identified  with  the  great  reform  and  social  move- 
ments of  the  day;  but  in  ministering  helpfully  to  indi- 
viduals, he  inspired  them  to  the  larger  tasks  of  social  re- 
demption. Above  all,  he  was  friendly,  and  the  friendship 
of  a  large-hearted,  chivalric  character,  quick  to  discern  and 
minister  to  human  needs,  is  a  great  boon  to  any  parish. 


The  New  York  Observer. 

The  Rev.  William  Rogers  Richards,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the 

Brick   Presbyterian   Church  of   New  York,  died   suddenly, 

from  apoplexy,  early  on  Friday,  January  7th,  at  his  home, 

14    East    Thirty-seventh    Street.     His   death   was    a    great 

shock  to  his  family,  friends,  and  the  members  of  his  church, 

for  he  had  been  apparently  in  excellent  health  during  the 

autumn,  devoting  himself  to  the  varied  duties  of  his  own 

pastorate  and  of  the  Church  at  large,  with  the  indefatigable 

earnestness   and   punctuality   which   were   characteristic  of 

the  man. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Striking  evidence  was  given  of  the  love  and  honor  in 
which  his  brethren  held  Dr.  Richards  in  the  action  of  the 
Ministers'  Association  of  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  after  Dr.  Rich- 
ards had  been  called  to  New  York.  On  October  18,  1902, 
the  association  met  at  his  home  and  presented  him  with  a 
beautiful  inkstand  as  a  testimonial  of  their  regard.  Rev. 
D.  J.  Yerkes,  in  making  the  presentation,  said: 

"  Dr.  Richards,  you  have  stood  in  very  close  relations  to 
the  members  of  the  noble  church  which  you  have  served  for 
many  years.  You  have  held  relations  of  a  peculiar  kind  to 
this  community  as  a  public-spirited  citizen;  but  your  con- 
nection with  the  Ministers'  Association  of  Plainfield  has 
brought  you  into  somewhat  peculiar  relations  with  the  pas- 
tors and  ministers  of  Plainfield,  and  in  this  narrower  circle, 
pervaded  as  it  is  by  a  spirit  of  congenial  friendship,  one 
marked  by  the  intimacies  of  brotherly  intercourse,  we  have 
learned  to  love  you  as  a  man,  as  a  Christian  and  as  a  min- 
ister of  Jesus   Christ.     We  wish  to  bear  witness  to  your 

74 


Christian  courtesy  and  brotherliness  to  every  member  of 
our  body,  to  your  wisdom  in  counsel,  your  readiness  to 
cooperate  in  every  work  done  in  the  name  of  the  Master 
wherever  and  by  whomsoever  performed,  and  to  your  spirit 
of  Christian  fraternity." 

:jc  H^  :fc  :]<  :^ 

The  Brick  Church  is  one  of  the  largest,  richest  and  most 
important  churches  in  New  York.  It  has  affiliated  with  it 
the  Church  of  the  Covenant  and  Christ  Church.  Among 
the  charitable  activities  of  these  churches  are  free  kinder- 
garten and  sewing  schools,  sick  children's  aid  societies, 
women's  employment  societies,  and  Christ  Church  Memo- 
rial House,  the  headquarters  of  boys'  and  girls'  classes  and 
clubs.  With  all  of  these  activities  and  duties.  Dr.  Rich- 
ards made  himself  personally  familiar.  His  crisp  and  vital 
discourses  drew  large  congregations  to  the  services  on  Mur- 
ray Hill.  His  genial  and  attractive  social  powers  won  him 
friends  throughout  the  city.  Soon  after  he  was  installed, 
he  was  asked  to  raise  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  build 
Christ  Church  and  its  group  of  dependencies  and  though  it 
was  new  and  distasteful  work  he  did  it  promptly  and  thor- 
oughly. He  was  content  to  give  himself  for  the  benefit 
and  the  credit  of  others.  He  had  a  strong  character,  a 
powerful  will,  and  great  influence  over  men,  but  his  strength 
was  tempered  by  Christian  courtesy,  and  in  action  his  self- 
control  and  gentleness  made  him  great. 

Dr.  Richards  was  sought  as  a  member  of  the  Moderator's 
Council  of  Presbytery  and  he  served  two  years  as  Mod- 
erator. He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Church  Extension 
Committee  of  Presbytery,  a  member  of  the  Council  of  New 
York  University,  a  director  of  the  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, of  the  Yale  Corporation  and  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.  He  was  a  member  of  several  clubs, 
including  the  Century,  Yale,  Quill,  Chi  Alpha  and  Presby- 
terian clubs.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution  and  of  the  New  England  Society,  and  fre- 
quently was  called  upon  as  a  speaker  at  the  meetings  and 
dinners  of  these  associations. 

His  was  the  best  type  of  the  New  England  man,  true  as 
steel  to  faith  and  duty,  and  full  of  noble  ambitions  to  bene- 
fit his  fellowmen ;  intelligent  and  cultured,  but  also  self- 
reliant  and  fearless.  Some  persons  who  had  never  seen  Dr. 
Richards  aroused,  nor  heard  him  upon  any  important  issue, 
spoke  of  his  sweetness  and  serenity,  his  lack  of  emotion 
and  temper;  but  they  did  not  know  his  wonderful  self- 
control  and  reserve  power.  He  planned  to  accomplish 
things  and  did  them.  He  went  into  battle  to  conquer,  and 
he  won,  and  he  always  acted  so  naturally,  gracefully   and 

75 


modestly,  that  many  could  not  understand  his  success. 
Straightforward  and  honorable  in  thought  and  act,  he  had 
none  of  the  arts  of  the  politician  and  none  of  the  tricks  of 
the  demagogue.  He  had  no  time  nor  taste  for  ecclesias- 
tical manceuvres  and  subterfuges,  and  no  need  for  apologies 
and  explanations.  Once,  when  he  was  called  upon  as  vice- 
moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  to  take  the  chair,  he  astonished  his  associates  by 
his  correct  judgment  and  executive  ability,  bringing  imme- 
diate order  out  of  confusion  and  driving  forward  business 
with  the  system  and  force  of  a  great  leader.  He  had  studied 
law,  and  could  state  a  case  with  brevity  and  clearness,  and 
had  a  ready  command  of  all  his  powers,  which  made  him 
equal  to  any  emergency.  Faithfulness  was  in  his  very 
being.  Men  and  women  instinctively  trusted  him,  not  be- 
cause of  any  emotional  impulse,  but  simply  because  he 
seemed  to  be  what  he  really  was,  an  upright,  sincere,  and 
friendly  man.  The  universal  testimony  of  those  who  speak 
of  the  death  of  Dr.  Richards  is  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  lost  one  of  its  strongest,  best  beloved  and  most 
useful  clergymen. 


Plainfield  Daily  Press. 

By    A.    V.    D.    HONEYMAN. 

The  exceedingly  beautiful  private  life  of  Dr.  Richards, 
and  his  strong  dominant  personality  in  the  upbuilding  of 
this  community  while  he  lived  and  walked  among  us,  cannot 
be  brought  out  too  strongly  in  any  review  of  his  career  that 

is  likely  to  appear  in  the  public  press. 

*  *  *  *  * 

The  general  characteristics  of  Dr.  Richards  as  he  ap- 
peared to  others  we  well  know;  his  self-poised,  dignified 
bearing,  his  sound  learning,  his  remarkedly  well-chiseled 
and  classic  face  when  Hghting  up  in  conversation,  his  in- 
terest in  all  things  for  the  common  good,  etc.  I  prefer  now 
to  write  of  certain  other  traits,  however,  and  of  his  pulpit 
ability. 

His  was  a  singularly  buoyant  and  lovable  nature  to  such 
as  entered  into  its  inner  portals.  Not  everybody  could  be- 
come his  confidant,  because  his  outward  disposition  was 
that  of  great  reserve,  born  of  that  rare  and  gentle  flower 
of  character  which  we  call  "  modesty."  You  had  to  know 
him  before  he  would  open  up  to  you  the  richness  and  rarity 
of  his  charming  regality.  He  never  obtruded  either  his 
personality  or  his  opinions  upon  others.    He  could  listen  to 

76 


that  which  did  not  meet  his  views  without  reply;  or,  if 
occasion  required,  he  could  strongly  enough  oppose  opin- 
ions which  differed  from  his  own,  but  in  the  latter  case  it 
was  always  with  such  quietude  of  manner  that  there  was 
a  potential  influence  behind  it,  which  was  well-nigh  irre- 
sistible. I  never  knew  a  man,  whether  preacher  or  other- 
wise, so  unobtrusive  in  his  methods  of  dealing  with  others, 
who  could  accomplish  so  much  even  by  way  of  rebuke,  and 
certainly  always  by  way  of  intentional  moral  uplift.  For 
this  reason  hundreds  of  persons  in  Plainfield  and  in  New 
York  City,  within  and  without  his  congregations,  who  did 
not  pretend  to  real  intimacy  with  him,  have  long  kept  in 
their  hearts  a  peculiar  reverence  for  this  preacher  and  his 
work.  They  have  admired  his  public  stand  for  the  right 
things;  they  have  felt  the  restraint  of  his  private  influence 
and  been  benefited  by  it,  even  when  the  man  himself  was 
unseen.  Of  few  ministers  it  can  be  said  that  after  seven 
years  of  entire  separation  from  his  flock — barring  a  few 
return  visits,  generally  of  condolence,  which  on  the  whole 
were  too  few  to  satisfy  his  old  parishioners — the  bonds 
which  united  them  to  him  have  strengthened  and  deepened 
until  at  last,  when  he  has  been  called  home  to  his  reward,  it 
could  be  truly  said  that  there  is  grief  in  every  family  and 
sadness  at  every  hearthstone  where  his  presence,  when  he 
was  among  us,  was  ever  known. 

That  his  personal  character  was  unusually  pure  and  lofty 
goes  without  saying.  In  this  respect  none  knew  him  or 
knew  of  him  but  to  praise  him.  There  are  not  so  many, 
however,  who  have  understood  the  geniality  and  bonhomie 
of  his  frank  and  childlike  nature.  His  personal  friends  were 
conversant  with,  and  understood  and  appreciated  this  side 
to  his  character,  and  to  them  the  remembrance  of  it  is  as 
a  benediction.  He  could  rejoice  with  those  who  rejoiced, 
as  well  as  speak  with  the  tenderness  of  a  father  to  those 
who  mourned,  but  he  best  loved  to  rejoice.  Life  to  him 
was  serious,  but  it  was  also  enrapturing,  for  it  was  to  be 
everlasting. 

When  in  the  Holy  Land,  companioning  in  sweet  fellow- 
ship with  a  number  of  persons  who,  to  all  appearances,  be- 
came dear  to  him  as  he  became  to  them,  treading  together 
spots  that  were  sacred  because  of  the  erstwhile  presence  of 
the  gentle  Nazarene,  whom  he  so  adored,  the  characteristics 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  of  buoyancy  and  cheerfulness,  were 
so  interblended  with  the  spirit  of  helpfulness  and  tender- 
ness of  feeling,  that  all  the  large  company  who  were 
thrown  daily  in  his  society  learned  to  love  the  man  as  be- 
fore some  few  of  us  had  learned  to  appreciate  the  preacher. 

:}c  :}e  :|e  ^  :fe 

77 


When  at  home  in  repose  his  countenance  had  been  some- 
times wearied  in  its  look,  as  if  his  shoulders  carried  a 
great  weight,  a  look  which  alas !  had  been  deepening  since 
he  later  took  up  the  burdens  of  a  strenuous  pastorate  in  the 
City  of  New  York.  But  all  this  left  him  under  the  sunny 
skies  of  Italy  and  Greece,  and  especially  amid  the  flower- 
crowned  hills  of  Galilee. 

Around  the  camp-fire  at  evening  time  he  could  sing  with 
his  melodious  bass  voice,  in  the  truest  spirit  of  tenderness, 
the  beautiful  "  Galilee,  sweet  Galilee  !  "  on  the  banks  of  that 
holy  lake ;  he  could  walk  in  the  rain  around  the  city  walls 
of  Jerusalem  and  hum  melodies  as  he  passed  on ;  he  could 
give  that  smile  so  constantly  characteristic  of  him,  which 
fairly  transfigured  his  countenance,  as  easily  when  con- 
versing with  the  aged  monk  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane 
as  when  he  climbed  the  Pyramids  and  assured  us  he  was 
refreshed  by  it,  when  others  were  complaining  of  dislocated 
joints;  and  he  could  feast  with  Arabs  at  an  evening  wed- 
ding festival  (as  related  by  him  in  the  last  sermon  he  pre- 
pared, which  Dr.  van  Dyke  read  from  the  Brick  Church 
pulpit  two  days  ago). 

*  H:  *  *  * 

As  a  preacher.  Dr.  Richards'  style  and  logic  were  force- 
ful in  proportion  as  one  heard  him  week  after  week.  He 
was  not  an  orator  and  he  was  the  reverse  of  sensational. 
His  language  though  carefully  studied,  was  always  plain 
and  direct;  in  the  use  of  simple  words  he  had  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  style  of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  He  had  no 
liking  for  the  complex  or  abstruse  in  stating  his  proposi- 
tions. There  is  no  easier  religious  reading  than  his  nu- 
merous printed  sermons ;  a  child  can  understand  them. 
The  beauty  of  his  style,  to  my  mind,  lay  in  this  simplicity 
of  diction,  and  in  the  cumulative  arguments,  with  which,  as 
a  rule,  his  sermons  (especially  his  carefully  written  out 
morning  sermons)  were  bound  to  convince  the  hearer.  As 
he  advanced  in  his  subject  step  by  step,  the  argument  grew, 
as  from  the  acorn  to  the  oak.  No  point  was  dropped  out 
by  the  way,  but  each  one  stood  by  side  until  the  final  one 
clinched  the  whole.  He  had  evidently  carefully  studied 
Scripture  dialectics  (in  the  best  sense  of  the  term)  and 
knew  how  first  to  convince  the  reason  and  then  to  stir  into 
life  dormant  emotions.  By  the  very  ingenuity  of  his  felici- 
tously put  reasoning  he  constrained  attention  and  compelled 
adhesion  to  his  own  clear-cut  views.  He  would  have  made 
a  grand  lawyer,  but  he  well  knew  that  he  was  practising 
before  a  higher  court  than  that  of  a  single  earthly  judge. 
His  court  was  that  of  many  human  consciences,  and  above, 

78 


on  the  appellate  bench,  was  a  Judge  whose  law  was  final 
and  perfect. 

I  doubt  if  any  plainer,  healthier,  or  more  robust  guide  to 
human  conduct  in  all  the  ordinary  relations  of  life  can  be 
found,  outside  of  the  Bible  itself,  than  is  contained  in  Dr. 
Richards'  several  published  volumes  of  sermons. 

Perhaps  the  most  commented  upon  characteristic  of  Dr. 
Richards'  sermons  was  that  one  never  knew,  when  he  began 
his  discourse,  how  or  about  what  it  was  going  to  end.  Not 
that  he  did  not  stick  to  his  text,  because  he  did  this  to  a 
degree  far  above  that  of  the  average  preacher,  but  one 
could  not  tell  whether  the  ultimate  goal  was  to  be  a  quiet 
appeal  to  the  unconverted,  or  the  holding  up  of  a  high 
Scriptural  plane  of  living  for  the  guidance  of  church 
members,  or  the  pointing  out  of  some  sore  in  the  body  pol- 
itic, or  an  indorsement  of  some  measure  of  reform,  or 
the  presentation  of  a  benevolent  cause  for  the  outturning 
of  the  contents  of  the  pocketbooks  of  his  congregation.  In 
the  latter  case  he  invariably  won  over  the  scruples  of  those 
whose  natures  were  not  too  liberal  toward  missions  or  other 
religious  objects  needing  money;  in  fact  without  any  direct 
appeals  for  benevolent  contributions  he  was  the  most  suc- 
cessful collector  for  such  causes  whom  I  have  ever  heard 
preach.  In  the  former  cases  his  congregations  always  left 
his  church  with  the  feeling  that  they  had  heard  the  pure 
and  unadulterated  Gospel  presented  in  an  original  and 
timely  form,  and  with  a  spur  to  it  distinctly  intended  to 
reform,  and  ennoble  character  and  sweeten  the  graces  of 
the  Christian  life. 

What  Dr.  Richards  was  in  the  councils  of  his  ministerial 
brethren  and  in  the  boards  of  the  church  others  better 
know.  What  he  was  at  the  few  clubs  whose  meetings  he 
delighted  to  attend,  and  at  family  gatherings,  where  the 
playfulness  of  his  mind  and  a  quick  repartee  were  always 
in  evidence  when  in  place,  is  a  matter  which  will  not  soon 
be  forgotten.  But  in  the  pulpit  he  will  be  most  sorely 
missed,  for  there  his  torch  gave  forth  a  light  pure,  tranquil, 
and  strong,  too  strong  to  be  extinguished  by  his  death. 
Here,  just  as  in  the  street  and  home,  he  was  always  and 
exactly  himself.  Without  ostentation  of  learning,  he  had 
deeply  drunk  of  the  wells  of  knowledge.  Without  practice 
of  unnatural  oratory,  whose  effect  would  have  been  mere- 
tricious, he  always  spoke  to  the  point  and  quit  when  he  had 
finished.  Without  show  of  pride,  he  was  justly  sensitive 
to  a  good  name,  prizing  it  above  all  other  riches.  Craving 
not  fame,  he  has  secured  it  in  the  affectionate  tribute  of 
regard  which  all  who  knew  him  now  gladly  render.     Un- 

79 


ostentatious  in  his  life,  his  was  a  knightly  soul,  and  it 
departed  from  us  almost  as  the  spirit  of  Elisha,  by  transla- 
tion. Or  as  Enoch,  who  in  a  moment  "  was  not,  for  God 
took  him !  " 


PERSONAL   TRIBUTES 

A  representative  of  the  Session  has  had  the  privilege  of 
reading  a  few  of  the  many  private  letters  received  by  the 
family  of  Dr.  Richards;  letters  touching,  sympathetic,  or 
heartbroken,  as  each  writer  was  dominated  by  a  sense  of 
personal  loss  or  by  the  desire  to  comfort  those  even  more 
deeply  afflicted;  among  others  were  letters  from  men  and 
women  whom  he  had  helped,  not  only  by  ministering  as  a 
preacher  to  their  spiritual  needs  but  in  a  more  personal 
way.  These  letters  cannot,  of  course,  be  made  public,  but 
were  it  possible  to  print  them,  it  would  be  seen  how  often 
Dr.  Richards  had  gone  "  the  second  mile  "  to  encourage  a 
wayfarer,  and  how  patiently  he  had  followed  some  sheep 
that  had  strayed  away  from  the  fold  of  which  he  was  the 
faithful  under-shepherd. 

One  letter  will  be  given,  with  the  consent  of  the  writer 
and  of  Mrs.  Richards,  because  it  expresses  so  well  what 
many  have  felt  and  experienced.  It  is  a  fitting  close  to  this 
memorial  of  a  man  of  God. 

New  York  City,  January  9,  19 10. 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Richards  : 

While  you  are  receiving  thousands  of  letters  of  sym- 
pathy from  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  I  wish  to  send  a 
tribute  from  an  humble  woman  reporter. 

It  was  not  my  privilege,  in  the  brief  year  and  a  quarter 
I  have  done  religious  reporting  in  New  York,  to  know  your 
husband  very  well,  but  each  of  the  few  times  I  did  have  a 
brief  interview  with  him,  I  went  away  with  higher  mo- 
tives. And  each  of  these  talks  stands  out  in  my  life  never 
to  be  forgotten. 

It  was  Dr.  Richards  who  wrote  me  the  first  kind  letter 
when  I  came  to  this  great,  cold  city. 

It  was  Dr.  Richards  that  said  the  first  personal  word  to 
me.  I  know  hundreds  of  clergymen  of  all  denominations 
and  in  different  parts  of  the  country.     It  is  a  rare  thing 

80 


for  one  of  them  to  ask  a  reporter  where  he  or  she  goes  to 
church,  or  to  show  any  personal  care.  But  Dr.  Richards 
was  not  that  kind.  It  was  at  your  house.  I  came  to 
ask  about  the  approaching  centennial  celebration  of  your 
church.  I  told  him  I  had  been  at  the  Brick  Church  the  day 
before  and  had  enjoyed  the  service  so  much.  He  there- 
upon grasped  my  hand  and  asked  me  if  I  would  not  come 
there  often,  if  I  would  not  like  to  make  that  my  church 
home.  I  told  him  I  regretted  I  could  not  because  my  duties 
took  me  all  over  the  city,  especially  Sundays.  But  I  did 
not  forget  the  kindly  smile,  the  fatherly  interest,  the  Chris- 
tian gentleman. 

I  am  only  one  of  hundreds  to  whom  he  has  shown  his 
great  Christlikeness.  If  there  were  more  men  like  your 
sainted  husband  this  world  would  be  a  better  place  in  which 
to  live.  Although  I  do  not  know  you,  my  heart  goes  out 
to  you. 

The  news  was  a  terrible  shock  to  me  as  it  was  to  New 
York  and  the  entire  country.  I  have  always  felt,  although 
I  could  attend  service  but  seldom  at  the  Brick  Church,  that 
I  was  under  its  influence  and  that  of  its  pastor — he  of  such 
majestic  dignity  and  tender  grace. 

In  closing,  I  would  just  say  that  it  is  a  great  thing  to 
have  lived  and  died  with  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him 
and  of  all  that  knew  of  him,  as  did  your  husband.  No  won- 
der people  called  his  face  "  saintly." 

Praying  diligently  that  God  will  bless  you  and  yours  and 
give  you  strength  to  bear,  and  pointing  you  to  the  Only 
Source  of  Comfort,  I  am 

Most  tenderly  yours, 

Rachel  Kollock  McDowell. 


8i 


